Come What May
by TeaLee
Summary: (BoyxBoy) Natsume and Kyo had never truly felt love or acceptance by anyone. For a brief time as children they were friends now years later they have met again. Will they be able to find love and acceptance in each other or will Natsume's ability and Kyo's curse get in the way?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **A strange cross over, I know. I kind of got the idea for this from my little cousin (who has an account on here) who was really into Fruit Baskets. I hadn't read the manga in years but she piqued my interest in the manga again. I had long packed the manga away and not feeling like trying to find that box I turned to FanFiction.

At that time I was really in to the Natsume anime (still am). Then I started seeing the similarities between Natsume's character and Kyo's. Then I thought that they would be good friends. That's how this story happened. It played out in my mind for over a year before I finally got the courage to write it.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

* * *

**Chapter 1 **

Takashi Natsume was sitting on a swing in the almost familiar park. He had seen so many parks in his life it was hard to tell one from the other. He let out a sigh as he looked at the setting sun. He thought that things had been going well with the Fujiwaras. He had kept his ability to see yokai a secret and as far as he knew they didn't suspect anything.

Then Touku Fjiwara's sister got sick, very, very sick so they decided to stay with her until they found her a decent caretaker. Since his school had a fire and was being rebuilt and not knowing how long they would be gone for the Fujiwaras decided that they would take him with.

Natsume was lonely though. For the first time in his life he had friends and he was missing them. It didn't help matters any that Touku's sister didn't like him very much. She would barely look at him and when she did she would snap at him. This always seemed to upset the Fujiwaras and they would apologize on her behalf. This upset him but what really upset him was the thought that they might listen to her and get rid of him. He didn't want to live with another family especially with him owning The Book of Friends.

He wished that Nyanko-sensei was here just so he had someone to talk to but he ran off with a group of smaller yokai saying something about sake. He had a feeling that he wouldn't be seeing the _cat_ until very late that night but most likely not until that next morning. When he went out drinking he went out drinking.

Natsume knew that he should probably head back as it wasn't the best idea to be outside alone when it was getting dark but he didn't want to. He didn't want to be looked at with disdain and he didn't want the Fujiwaras to apologize. He didn't sense anything so he decided that he could sit in the park a little while longer.

He liked the familiarity of the place. Natsume knew that he had been here before. There was something almost comforting about the swing he was currently swinging on. He couldn't remember why as he had been in so many parks in his young life that it was hard to keep them all straight.

With a resigned sigh he got up from the swing and was about to head back when someone else walked into the park. Natsume hesitated a moment as he studied the other boy that stood a few feet in front of him. He was fairly tall and on the slim side with short orange hair. The boy looked human but there was something different about him. Something almost animalistic. There was also something familiar about him.

Natsume glanced towards the sandbox in thought and a vague memory flashed through his mind. He was sitting in the sandbox building a sandcastle with another kid that looked similar to the boy standing in front of him. Then along forgotten name popped in his mind.

"Kyo…" Natsume said hesitantly.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Kyo walked to the park needing to get away. Away from school. Away from his family. Away from life in general. Normally he would head to his roof but when he heard all of the loud voices coming from the house he turned around and headed towards the park. The park was usually empty at this time of the day as it was nearing nightfall. That was why he was surprised to see another boy standing there looking just as surprised to see him.

The strange boy was studying him so Kyo studied him back. The boy was thin and shorter than him with shaggy light brown hair. Kyo watched as the boy's brown eyes flicked over to the sandbox before looking back at him.

"Kyo…" the other boy said almost hesitantly like he wasn't sure if he had the name right. Kyo frowned at him wondering who this boy was and how he knew his name. Then he remembered something. Something he hadn't thought of in years. When he came to the park as a child there use to be a strange little boy that he played with then one day he was just gone. He looked for him but after a few weeks of not seeing him Kyo gave up and put the strange boy out of his mind.

"That's right," Kyo answered. "We use to play together here as kids, didn't we?" The other boy slowly nodded but didn't say anything. "Sorry, I don't remember your name."

"Natsume Takashi," the other boy, Natsume, said quietly. Natsume then sat down on the swing when earlier it looked like he was about to leave.

Kyo sighed not sure what to do now. He wasn't in the mood to deal with someone; it's why he came here in the first place. But Natsume looked so sad and lonely. Something that he knew all-to-well. And he wasn't ready to go back as everyone was probably just sitting down to dinner about now. He knew that Tohru would worry but then she worried about everything.

"So, long time no see," Kyo said as he sat down in a swing next to the smaller boy.

"Yeah we use to play here a lot," Natsume said with a small smile.

"What happened?" Kyo asked almost accusingly. It wasn't like he had a lot of friends and to lose one of the few he had hurt.

"I…moved," Natsume said quietly. Kyo could tell by the way the other boy spoke that wasn't a happy memory for him either and decided not to press for an answer.

"Just back for a visit?" Kyo asked.

"Something like that. I'm not sure how long I'm going to be here for," Natsume said again sounding sad. Kyo winced at the tone in the other boy's voice. And he thought his family were the only ones that felt angst that strong.

"Then maybe…" Kyo said and then hesitated a moment not sure if what he was about to suggest would be a good idea but then again how many childhood friends did he have. "Maybe we could hangout while you're here. Get to know each other again."

"I'd like th…" Natsume started to say when a strong breeze blew by them. Natsume fell off his swing and hit the ground. Hard.

"Are you alright?" Kyo asked as he looked down at the boy in concern.

"I'm fine," Natsume said as he glared at the nearby bushes before slowly getting up and rubbing the middle of his chest.

"I'll walk you back. Where are you staying?" Kyo asked as he got off his own swing.

"I…" Natsume started to say and then stopped looking confused. Kyo sighed. At least Natsume had a legitimate excuse for being lost unlike someone else he knew. "I have the address." Natsume reached into his pocket, pulled out a small piece of paper, and handed it over.

"I know where this is," Kyo said glad it was close. "Come on." He then started walking. It took a moment before he finally heard Natsume's footsteps as well.

"Thank you for the help," Natsume said sounding sincere.

"Don't worry about it," Kyo said surprised by the sincerity.

"I forgot about how big this city was," Natsume said as he looked around.

"I guess," Kyo said with a shrug never really thinking about it. "I heard that they're filming a movie here but I don't know a lot about it. Maybe we can go check it out tomorrow. We can meet at the park after I'm done with school. Around three work for you?"

"Yeah, I'd like that," Natsume seeming to finally begin to relax.

It didn't take them long to reach the house which looked like a typical house. Not overly fancy but not rundown either. Kyo was just about to tell the other boy goodbye and leave until he heard something that sounded breaking in the house followed by shrill screams. Both Natsume and Kyo winced at the sound and the smaller boy's hand hovered over the doorknob like he was afraid to open it. He didn't have to though as the door opened and an older couple stepped out.

"Takashi-kun," the older woman said looking flustered. "You're back so late. Did you get lost?"

"No…I…ah…I ran into an old friend, Kyo," Natsume said sounding uncertain and if Kyo wasn't mistaken with a hint of fear in his voice.

"I see," the old man said giving him a smile.

"Thank very much for doing that I…" the old woman started to say when something else broke in the house and the shrill screaming started again.

"If that boy is back I don't want him in my house! There's something wrong with him! He's not right!" the woman inside screamed. Natsume flinched like he'd been struck and Kyo barely held his back. That woman sounded just like. Like too many people that he could name.

"Kiki! Takashi is a good boy," the old woman said as she hurried into his house. The older man had a frown on his face as he watched her hurry into the house.

"Don't take anything she says seriously. She's sick and it's only for a few more days until we find a nice caretaker for her," the man explained.

"I know," Natsume said quietly sounding so uncertain and unsure it was almost heartbreaking.

"Thank you again for bringing Takashi home," the man said.

"If," Kyo said as he licked his lips not believing what he was about to say but pushed through anyway not really thinking about it. "If you would like Natsume could stay with me and my family while you're here."

"Are you sure?" the man asked.

"Sure about what?" the woman asked as she once again joined them outside.

"Kyo offered to let Natsume stay with him while we are here," the man explained to her.

"Really? Are you sure that's alright?" she asked.

"Yeah," Kyo said with a casual shrug even though he was anything but. He figured that if Yuki could invite Tohru over and she ended up living with them then he could invite over his childhood friend for a few days. All he knew though was that he couldn't leave Natsume there with that woman.

"I think that's a good idea. Is that alright with you?" the man asked as he looked at the smaller boy.

"Ah…yeah," Natsume said looking nervous. Not that Kyo could blame him. It's not like they really knew each other and he wasn't sure how Shigure was going to react.

"I'll pack your bag," the woman said as she went back into the house.

Not ten minutes later Natsume was quietly following him looking overly nervous and upset. Kyo was feeling the same. There was no reason for that woman to treat Natsume that way. He was a normal kid. At least his family had a reason. He glared down at the bracelet that he had to wear. They had a good reason.

"Do they always treat you that way?" Kyo asked no longer able to stand the silence. Natsume blinked at him a few times like he was surprised that he was being talked to.

"No the Fujiwaras are the nicest people that I've said with. Touku-san's sister though…" Natsume said as his voice trailed off. Kyo frowned realizing that Natsume had his own story. He thought that the older couple might have been his grandparents or his aunt and uncle; something along those lines but they weren't his family at all.

"This way," Kyo said as he turned into the grounds and waited for the surprised sound people made when they walked into the wooded area. He turned to look at the quiet boy following him. Natsume didn't look awed or surprised he looked wary. His eyes kept looking on either side of the path like he expected something to attack them.

"There are no wild animals in here," Kyo said with a roll of his eyes. Or at least not at the moment but he thought it best not to add that. Natsume mumbled something under his breath that sounded like '_It_'_s not the animals I'm worried about.'_

Soon enough they reached the house and he wasn't surprised to see that Tohru was waiting on the porch. Shigure was also with her which was a little unnerving but he figured he better get it over with.

"Kyo I was getting worried," the girl said as she nervously rung her hands, "is everything alright?"

"I'm fine. I just ran into an old friend," Kyo said as he glanced over his shoulder to see Natsume standing there looking ready to bolt. "He needs a place to stay for a few days so I said he could stay here."

"Oh I'm sorry I didn't see you standing there…" Tohru started to prattle as she hurried over to Natsume who, to his credit, looked only slightly overwhelmed.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to have him stay here?" Shigure asked quietly.

"Tohru lives here besides it's only for a few days. It's not like he'll have time to figure anything out," Kyo explained.

"I know but at you at least you went to school with Tohru. This boy is a complete stranger. Why would you invite him to stay here?" the man asked as they both watched as Tohru fawned over Natsume.

"He's not a complete stranger," Kyo mumbled suddenly feeling embarrassed by his answer. Shigure raised an eyebrow. "He's a childhood friend of mine."

"A childhood friend," Shigure repeated. "The boy you use to play with in the park."

"You remember him?" Kyo asked surprised.

"Of course I do. You talked about him all the time," Shigure gave him a wicked smile before he flounced down the steps towards Natsume and Tohru. "So you're Kyo's long lost childhood friend. I'm Shigure. Kyo's favorite cousin."

"Stay away from him," Kyo said as he grabbed Shigure by his collar and tossed him back. The man immediately started to whine.

"You're sooo mean," he said with a sniff. "I'm going inside where I'm wanted. Yuki! Kyo's being mean. Even with his friend here. You'd think with company…" his voice trailed off as he walked into the house. Kyo realized that in his own weird way Shigure had just given a warning to Yuki that they had someone normal around.

"There's plenty of dinner left over for both of you and I've kept it warm!" Tohru said with a big smile as she walked into the house.

"Come on," Kyo said as he walked into the house. Natsume followed albeit slowly.

"Dinner's on the table," Tohru said as she sat down. Yuki also sat even though he didn't have a plate but neither did Tohru. It looked as if him and Natsume weren't going to have a quiet meal. Yuki gave Natsume a curious glance before he sent a glare Kyo's way. He was glad that Yuki wasn't saying his usually jibes. Kyo figured that even he could tell that Natsume was upset and didn't need to see or hear one of their fights.

"If you're going to be staying here for a few days I need to know your favorite meal so I can make it for you before you leave," Tohru offered in her usually cheerful manner.

"You don't have to go through the trouble besides I'm not really picky," Natsume said as he gave the girl a kind smile. Kyo couldn't help noticing how mellow the boy was being. Complete opposite from everyone else he knew.

"So Shigure said you and Kyo were childhood friends," Yuki said although the way he said it, it was more of a question. Natsume nodded

"Yeah we use to play at the park," Natsume said and didn't add more.

"Well that's nice. You two running into each other again I mean," Tohru said. Natsume nodded and continued to eat his dinner while talking to Tohru; actually she did most of the talking while Natsume nodded and made non-committal noises.

"I hope you know what you're doing with him," Yuki said quietly.

"It's only for a few days unlike your guest. He'll be gone before anyone will even know he's here," Kyo muttered. He was tempted to tell him why he had to stay here but he doubted anyone in his family would understand or care.

"For your sake and his I hope you're right," Yuki said as he got up. "Well I'm going to bed. Goodnight everyone."

"Goodnight Yuki," Tohru said cheerfully. Natsume said a quiet goodnight and watched Yuki leave with the most curious expression on his face.

"Thank you for the nice meal. It was very good," Natsume said as he got up with his plate in hand.

"Don't worry about the dishes I'll do them. You can go on up to bed you look tired," Tohru said as she took the plate from him.

"Thank you again," Natsume said.

"Come on you can stay in my room," Kyo said as he grabbed Natsume's bag and headed up the stairs giving the other boy no choice but to follow.

"Your family seems nice," Natsume said once he closed the door to the bedroom.

"They can be," Kyo muttered not wanting to think about them anymore. He opened his closet and started to pull out the futon Natsume immediately helped him. "You can have the bed if you want."

"No the futon's fine," Natsume told him and then yawned. Tohru was right Natsume looked beyond tired.

"Bathroom's through there if you want to change for bed. Knock though because I share it with Yuki," Kyo said as he pointed towards the door.

A few minutes later the light was off and they were both in bed trying to sleep. Keyword trying. Kyo's sensitive ears picked up what he thought were quiet sobs coming from the other boy. He wasn't sure what to do. He had never really comforted someone before and he really didn't know Natsume that well. Plus he was trying to hide the fact that he was. If he didn't have such sensitive hearing he never would have heard it in the first place. In the end he just let it go deciding that he would trying and cheer the other boy up tomorrow.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Important Info:**

**1: **I didn't finish the Fruit Baskets Manga. I only read through till you (the reader) found out Akito's secret. I didn't read past that. So for the purpose of this story Akito will be a boy. I hope that doesn't offend anyone.

**2:** I will use a few Japanese words in this story but only ones that don't have a translation. Such as yokai. I will also occasionally use the suffix on the end of names again because there is no translation for them except when dealing with the Fujiwaras. They will be Mr. and Mrs. so it will be easier to distinguish between the two.

**3: **I don't know the age of the characters but the purposes for this Story Kyo will be 17 and Natsume 15.

**4: **This story takes place after season 4 of Natsume so there will be spoilers and for Fruits Baskets not set after anything certain but again spoilers.

**5: **You probably know from the description that this story will be BL (BoyxBoy) (nothing graphic) but in case it wasn't clear you have been warned.

Please enjoy the story and leave a review!


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **Alright I got some hits for this story but no reviews. Sniff. I don't need much. Just I'm reading is fine. Well here's chapter 2. Please leave a review. They really do make me happy.

* * *

**Chapter 2 **

Natsume was still sleeping deeply when he felt someone gently shake him by his shoulder. He opened his eyes and didn't recognize where he was. He momentarily panicked until he saw Kyo standing there in what Natsume assumed was his school uniform.

"Breakfast is soon," Kyo said as he looked at him cocking his head to the side as he did so.

"Hmmm," Natsume hummed still feeling slightly uncertain about the family. He wasn't sure how they felt about him staying with them and he didn't want to get Kyo in trouble for inviting him over without asking permission. "Would it be alright if I cleaned up?"

"Of course," Kyo said his eyes going wide with surprise at the question. "There's a shower in that bathroom and the bath is downstairs."

"Shower is fine," Natsume said as he stood up and stretched before grabbing his bag and his satchel that held The Book of Friends; he thought it would be a good idea to always have it with him while he was in an unfamiliar city.

Natsume took a quick shower trying not to think about the situation that he was currently in. He had such a fear that the Fujiwaras would kick him out. A part of himself told him that was stupid. That the Fujiwaras were nice people that genuinely cared about him but that part was much quieter. If there was something that Natsume learned in his young life it was not to get comfortable anywhere.

He winced as he raised his arm to wash his hair. He had a huge bruise on his right shoulder from where that yokai flew into him and knocked him off the swing the night before. Deciding not to think about any of it Natsume quickly finished his shower, got dressed, and headed downstairs with his satchel over his shoulder.

Even if he didn't remember where the dining room was he could he could tell by the noise. He peaked into the room to see Shigure whining, Kyo and Yuki slinging insults, and Tohru looking between the three of them trying to play peacekeeper.

"Good morning," the girl said when she saw him standing there.

"Morning," Natsume replied as he joined them at the table. They seemed to have settled down now that he was there but Kyo and Yuki continued to glare daggers at each other.

"I hope you slept well," the girl said with a kind smile.

"I did. Thank you," Natsume said as he returned the smile. And it was the truth. It might have taken him awhile to fall asleep but once he did it was the most restful sleep he had in a long time. No yokai came in the room at all. Something that he was very grateful for. He didn't think Kyo would like it if his room was destroyed.

"I'm going shopping after school. Is there anything special you would like for dinner?" Tohru asked. Natsume shook his head.

"Whatever you make is fine. I just appreciate you letting me stay here," Natsume told her.

"It's nice having you here," Tohru said. The two of them then talked about mundane things as Kyo and Yuki once again started arguing and Shigure started whining. He heard words like idiot, stupid, and odd things like rat and cat. It wasn't long after that the fight turned physical.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Natsume asked nervously. He had never seen a family quite like them before. If just a cup got knocked over while he ate with one of the families he stayed with they would go so upset with him. Yuki and Kyo on the other hand were throwing dishes at each other and no one 'truly' seemed to mind.

"They do this all the time. They don't care about my house at all," Shigure said with a sniff and Tohru was back to playing peacekeeper. Natsume was trying to think of the best way to defuse the situation when something came flying towards him that he wasn't able to dodge and he fell off of his chair.

He must have blacked out for a moment because when he opened his eyes it was to see three concerned faces looking down at him. Concerned. Not afraid. Not confused. But concerned. Maybe overly concerned but at least it wasn't a yokai.

"Are you alright Natsume?" Kyo asked with a frown.

"I'm fine," Natsume said as he slowly sat up and rubbed the back of his head and winced when he touched a particularly sore spot.

"Take it easy anyway," Shigure said as he made sit back in the chair.

"I brought an icepack," Tohru said as she hurried back into the room.

"Thanks Tohru," Kyo said as he took it from her and placed on the back of Natsume's head. "Better?"

"Yeah," Natsume said as he took over holding the icepack his fingers brushing Kyo's in the process.

"I am very sorry Natsume. I didn't mean for you to get involved," Yuki said as he gave a low bow.

"It's alright," Natsume said curious as to why Yuki looked guilty and Kyo looked more than angry at him.

"You kids better hurry or you'll be late for school," Shigure said.

"Yeah, yeah," Kyo said snapped before he turned his attention back to Natsume. "You sure you're alright?" Natsume nodded.

"It doesn't even hurt anymore," he said as he set the icepack down.

"Don't worry I'll take good care of him," Shigure said with a smile; Kyo glared in response. "It'll be fine Kyo you don't have to worry." The way the two of them were looking at each other Natsume had a feeling he was missing something.

"If he gets creepy on you go to the park. After I'm done with school we can check out the filming of that movie," Kyo said.

"Sure," Natsume agreed.

"You're so mean calling me creepy and if you go out after school who's going to fix my dining room," Shigure whined.

"That damn…he can fix it!" Kyo snapped as he pointed to Yuki.

"I'll do it after school," Yuki agreed. Natsume could tell by everyone's shocked reaction no one was expecting him to offer. With that said the three of them left leaving Natsume alone with Shigure.

"It'll be a lot quieter with the three of them gone," the man said the whine now gone from his voice. "I have some work to do so I'll be in my office. Why don't you take it easy this morning. I don't think Kyo would like coming home from school and find you sick."

"Hmmm," Natsume said as he watched the man walk into a smaller room and quietly close the door behind him.

After he was gone Natsume looked around at the destroyed dining room and figured that the least he could do was clean up. It wasn't like he wasn't use to cleaning up messes like this. Not even an hour later he had everything put back in order. That was also the time that he heard very familiar footsteps. He turned around to see Nyanko-sensei walk into the house.

"Sensei," Natsume said as he glanced at the cat slightly annoyed that he hadn't turned up until now.

"I went to the Fujiwaras only to find you gone," Sensei said looking slightly annoyed himself. Natsume glanced towards Shigure's office and saw that the door was still closed but he didn't want to take the chance of being overheard so he walked outside.

"When did you get in?" Natsume asked as he sat on the steps of the porch.

"That's beside the point! How can I be your bodyguard when I don't know where you are!" the cat snapped.

"I'm staying with a childhood friend of mine," Natsume muttered. Nyanko-sensei had a certain gleam in his eye when he heard that but ignored that piece of information.

"There's something odd about this place," the cat said instead. Natsume nodded in agreement. There was something different he just didn't know what it was. "Have there been any unusual yokai around?"

"There was one at the park last night," Natsume said as he rubbed his still sore shoulder, "but I haven't seen any since I've been here."

"Be watchful then. Lack of yokai isn't a good thing either," Sensei said as he looked at the house with suspicion.

"Right," Natsume said with a sigh. Nothing ever could be easy.

"It would probably be best if I didn't stay to close to here besides I have plans tonight," the cat said and then took off. Natsume watched him go and shook his. It looked as if his bodyguard had another night of drinking planned.

After the cat was out-of-sight Natsume walked back into the house not really sure what to do now. He didn't want to intrude where he wasn't wanted. He glanced around the house and his eyes were drawn to a bookcase. Curious he walked over to it.

There were several books on the shelves with interesting looking titles. One book in particular stood out. It looked old, very old. Curiosity got the better of him and he pulled it down. When he opened it he was surprised to see yokai letters there. He was able to read one word. Curse. Before he felt someone walk up behind him.

~XXXXXXXXXXXXX~

**Bonus Childhood Memories: **

Kyo really didn't want to play at the park but it was either here or with his stupid cousins. Not wanting to play with any of them he chose the park. He looked at all of the kids running around laughing and felt annoyed; he didn't want to play with any of them either.

He then saw a little boy with light colored hair playing in the sandbox all by himself. Kyo figured that boy was his best bet. He walked over to him and tapped the boy on the shoulder. He startled the other boy so bad that he screamed and sand went flying.

"Don't be such a baby. I just want to play," Kyo said as he put his hands on his hips.

The boy looked up at him with wide eyes, looked at the other kids, then looked back at him. He hated the fact that this boy was scared of him even though he didn't know what he really was.

The small boy took a deep breath, grabbed him by the hand, and dragged him towards the other kids.

"Hey just a minute! What do you think you're doing?" Kyo tried to protest but the other boy ignored him.

"Can you see him?" the strange boy asked as he stopped in front of the other kids.

"Go away you're weird," a girl snapped. But the boy still held onto Kyo's hand and stood his ground.

"Can you see him?" the boy repeated only this time louder. Kyo was wondering if he should just push the strange boy down and leave him there but the other kids were giving the other boy such mean looks. He didn't like that.

"Of course we can see him. Now leave us alone!" a bigger boy shouted. The strange boy looked up set but did say anything as he pulled Kyo away. It wasn't until they were back at the sandbox that the boy dropped his hand and looked up at him with wide, frightened eyes.

"I'm sorry I…" the boy stuttered looking close to tears. Kyo had two choices. He could play with this strange boy or he could go play with the kids who were still laughing at this boy's actions.

"So do you want to build a sandcastle?" Kyo asked him. He was rewarded with a bright smile.

"I'm Natsume Takashi," the boy said.

"Sohma Kyo," he said.

~XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX~

**AN2: **Just to let everyone know there will be a lot of OOCness as I don't remember how all of the characters in FB act also I find Natsume hard to write. I wish I could write those 'zingers' he says in the anime that make me want to cry. This story will also be AU especially towards the end.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 **

**Review Thanks: **

**Kashino Chiyuki-chan: **Thanks for the review. Hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. I would like to say again this story is your fault. You reintroduced to FB and I introduced you to Natsume.

**AN:** I wasn't planning on doing something from Shigure's POV but I think it worked really well. Please leave a review and let me know what you think!

* * *

Shigure went into his office trying not to think about their new houseguest. It was only for a few days but still he didn't want anyone else involved in their family's mess. What was really odd about the whole thing was that it was Kyo who invited him.

He had to admit that Natsume did have a calming influence on them all. Yuki and Kyo's fight ended a lot quicker than it usually did. Not to mention Yuki agreed when Kyo volunteered him to clean up the mess. Tohru also didn't seem as hyper during the spat that she usually was. That was until Natsume got knocked off his chair.

The man glanced out his window and saw said boy sitting on their porch with a cat, an odd looking cat at that. He chuckled to himself. It didn't really surprise him that the boy was a cat person. He was taken out of his mussing when the phone rang.

"Hello," he said as he picked up the phone.

"Hello this is Natsume Takashi's guardian Mrs. Fujiwara. Kyo gave me this number," a nice sounding woman said.

"Hello Mrs. Fujiwara. Is there anything I can help you with?" Shigure said as he smiled into the phone.

"I just wanted to make sure if it's alright if Takashi stays with you I know Kyo offered but…"

"Its fine," Shigure reassured her. "Natsume is a very kind boy."

"He is," Mrs. Fujiwara said sounding proud

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" he asked when she hesitated.

"Ah…I just want to make sure the boys are alright," she said sounding worried.

"Alright?" Shigure asked curiously.

"Yes. You see my sister isn't well and she doesn't always realize what she's saying. And she said some things last night…"

"I see," Shigure said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Don't worry they're fine."

"I'm glad," the woman said letting out a sigh of relief.

"If you're going to be here for a while do you need help registering Natsume for school?" Shigure asked.

"Thank you but no. We should only be here for a few more days but Natsume does have packets to do. You see our school had a fire not long ago and the students can't go back until they rebuild it so they were given work to do at home," Mrs. Fujiwara explained.

"I'll see that he works on them," Shigure said as he once again glanced out the window only to see that the boy and cat were gone.

"Thank you. This is really helping us out. If you need any compensa…"

"Don't worry about," Shigure reassured her. The two of them then said their goodbyes and the man hung up the phone and once again pinched the bridge of his nose. If Mrs. Fujiwara's sister had said anything like Kyo's father had; at least that explained why Kyo was being so protective of the boy. Curious as to what said boy was doing he left his office and walked into the main house.

He found Natsume in front of the bookcase looking at the old family book. If he didn't know better he would think that he was reading it but Shigure knew that wasn't possible as no one knew what language the book was written in.

"That's a very old book," Shigure said as he plucked it from the boy's hands and put it back on the shelf.

"I'm sorry. I didn't…" the boy said quietly.

"It's alright you didn't know," Shigure was quick to reassure him. "Your guardian just called. She said that you had packets that you're working on." Natsume nodded still looking uncertain. "Did you need help with any of them?"

"Math," the boy muttered so quietly Shigure wasn't sure if he spoke or not.

"Math?" he repeated making sure that he had heard right. The boy nodded as he pulled a packet from his satchel and handed it over. Shigure scanned it and smiled. "I know this. Come on we can go over it at the dining room table.

"Thank you," Natsume said as he followed him into the other room.

"No worries," Shigure said as he gave the boy a kind smile hoping that his family wouldn't get their claws into such a nice, normal kid.

~XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX~

Kyo barely kept his anger in check as the three of them made their way to school. He couldn't believe, although inadvertently, Yuki got Natsume involved in their fight and got him hurt.

"I'm sorry about your friend," Yuki said without really looking at him.

"Whatever," Kyo muttered under his breath. Even though he was still angry he really wasn't up to having another fight.

"Why'd you invite him to stay with us anyway?" Yuki asked sounding almost accusing. Kyo chuckled humorously.

"You wouldn't understand," Kyo said as he hurried on ahead leaving, a most likely, confused Yuki and Tohru behind him.

The school day passed very slowly. The seconds felt like minutes, the minutes like hours. Kyo wasn't sure how long he was going to last. He kept thinking about how he left Natsume with Shigure. He knew that he man told him not to worry. That it would be alright but if push came to shove.

What if the main house found out and Hatori erased Natsume's memories of him completely. Akito could also do something terrible to him. Unlike Tohru, Natsume was his friend not Yuki's. Once it was time for lunch Kyo decided that he would cut the rest of the day and head home.

He walked into the house and felt momentarily panic when he didn't see anyone then his sensitive ears picked up quiet talking coming from the dining room. He opened the door and was surprised to see Natsume and Shigure working at the table. What was even more surprising was that they seemed to be getting along.

"Kyo what are you doing home?" Shigure asked as he looked up him curiously.

"I…ah…I came to see how things were going," he said still trying to process what he was seeing.

"I told you everything would be fine," Shigure said sounding hurt.

"He didn't do anything weird, did he?" Kyo asked as he gave the man a shrewd look.

"No, he's actually been very nice. He's even helping me with my schoolwork," Natsume explained.

"Well that's good…" Kyo said unsure how to really respond. "Come on I passed the street they were filming on. Why don't we go check it out."

"What about school?" Shigure asked.

"It's my senior year. Let me enjoy it!" Kyo snapped. "Come on Natsume let's go."

"It's alright. Go enjoy your youth," Shigure sighed.

"But…" Natsume said as he looked down at the papers on the table.

"I'll pick them up for you and we can work on them more tomorrow," Shigure said.

"You sure?" Natsume asked.

"Of course. It's the least I can do after you cleaned and fixed the dining room," Shigure said as he began to gather up the papers.

"I…" Natsume started to protest but Kyo quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him from the house.

"Let's go before he changes his mind," Kyo said as they walked down the steps of the porch.

"Right," Natsume said as he glanced over his shoulder at the house a look of guilt on his face.

"You didn't have to fix our mess," Kyo said once they were off the grounds.

"I wasn't doing anything anyway besides your family is nice enough to let me stay with them," Natsume argued.

"You don't owe our family anything," Kyo muttered. "So Shigure really didn't give you any problems?"

"No he was very nice," Natsume said sincerely.

"That's good," Kyo said feeling relieved. He had been worried that Shigure would be himself. This was when he realized that he still had a hold of Natsume's hand so he let it go quickly and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Are you sure you won't get in trouble for missing school?" Natsume asked.

"Its fine," Kyo said with a shrug. It wouldn't matter if he graduated or not. His future was set anyway. Not that Natsume needed to know that.

The two of them walked down the street to where the barriers were set up. From the look of things it was a romantic movie going by the big eyes the actress was giving the actor. He didn't recognize the girl but the guy he certainly did.

"Natori," Natsume said looking surprised.

"You a fan of his?" Kyo teased.

"Not of his movies," Natsume muttered.

Kyo was about to ask Natsume what he meant when the director called cut and the actor made eye contact with Natsume before making his way over to them.

"Natsume I didn't think I would see you here," the man said. Kyo had to admit that he was surprised. The actor was acting as if him and Natsume were old friends and by the way Natsume was responding he knew that they were. He was only half paying attention to what they were saying as the crowd of girls behind them kept complaining about how that _boy_ shouldn't be getting all the attention.

"So where's your _kitty_?" The actor asked. The word kitty broke Kyo out of his thoughts. It didn't help that the man was giving him an odd look.

"Out," Natsume grumbled as he looked off in the distance like he expected to see the cat.

"Sounds like him," Natori said with a smile. "And this is?"

"Sohma Kyo. A…childhood friend," Natsume said.

"Then it's very nice to meet you," Natori said giving him a pleasant smile. "It's not often I get to meet one of Natsume's friends."

"It's nice to meet you as well," Kyo replied.

"Listen we're about to break for the day so how about I take you boys out to eat. My treat," Natori offered.

"Ah…I will if Kyo wants to," Natsume said as he looked up at him.

"Of course," Kyo agreed. When the rest of the family heard who he met and who invited him to lunch they'd be jealous. Which would be a first. His family jealous of the cat.

"Good," Natori said. He flashed the crowd one more dazzling smile that made Natsume groan before they all walked to a nearby café. It wasn't an overly fancy place but it was still better than the places he usually ate at. They choose a table in the very back. Natori sat across from them while him and Natsume sat next to each other.

"Natsume you never did say what you were doing here," Natori said.

"Touku-san's sister is sick. They're here to find a caretaker for her," Natsume explained.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Natori said. "And why is it that I haven't heard about your friend…"

"Are you ready to order?" the waitress asked as she poured them each a glass of tea. Natori then placed their order for them; Kyo had no idea how they were going to eat all of the food that he ordered but he wasn't about to complain.

"So now about this childhood friend of yours," Natori said after the waitress had left.

"We ran into each other at the park," Natsume said as he stared at something on Natori's hand. Kyo also looked down but didn't see anything. "We use to play there when we were little."

"What luck you two meeting again after all of these years," Natori said with and eerie smile.

"Yeah Natsume is even staying with us while he's here," Kyo supplied.

"Well that's…" Natori said but he never got to finish as Natsume let out a yelp and spilt his tea all over the table.

"Natsume are you alright?" Kyo asked concerned as Natsume coughed on the tea he had been drinking. Kyo glared at the man that sat across from them who looked mildly amused.

"I'm…fine," Natsume rasped. "The tea was just…hot."

"You sure that's it. Your head's not bothering you is it?" Kyo asked.

"My head's fine," Natsume told him then looked off to the side. "I just fell off a chair."

"It was little more than that," Kyo said wondering why Natsume was saying something that he already knew. He glanced over at Natori and saw that he was being more attentive now.

"What exactly happened?" Natori asked.

"Me and my cousin got in a little…tiff this morning and Natsume accidentally got involved," Kyo explained not wanting to go into detail as it looked as if the man had a protective streak where Natsume was concerned.

"And that's all it was?" Natori asked an oddly serious note to his voice. Natsume nodded.

"Yeah things have been…very uneventful," Natsume said."That happened last night. They didn't mean any harm," Natsume said as he rubbed his shoulder. Kyo scratched his head in confusion. He had a feeling that he was missing something. The conversation wasn't really making a lot of sense.

"I would invite you to stay with me but I'm leaving tomorrow and my hotel room is small," Natori said with a sigh.

"Natsume's fine staying with us," Kyo said not wanting the man to think that they couldn't take care of him. True his family was cursed, and Akito was dangerous, and Natsume got hurt this morning because of him and Yuki but he wasn't going to let anything else happen to him. Natsume was the only friend he had that was just his.

"Kyo and his family have been very nice to me," Natsume said as he looked off into empty space. "I didn't see anything last night at all except…" his smaller friend then rubbed his shoulder again, "and they apologized."

Kyo watched as the two people he was with talked to seemingly nothing. He felt like he really was missing something important. Natori gave a slight nod of his head before looking back over at him.

"I can see that. It's always nice finding a long lost childhood friend," Natori said as he gave him a smile.

"Yeah," Kyo agreed. Natsume being his only one and one he hadn't thought about in years.

"Now here you go," the waitress said as she started putting several different plates on the table. "Is there anything else I can get you?"

"We're good for now. Thank you," Natori said giving the girl a smile that made her giggle and blush. "Eat up. I know how hungry growing boys are."

Kyo didn't need to be told twice and dug in. Natsume also began to eat but at a much slower pace which in turn made Kyo slow down.

"Natsume what are you doing about school while you're here?" Natori asked.

"There was a…fire. They closed the school while they rebuild it so we were all given take home work to do," Natsume explained looking oddly guilty.

"I thought that you were going to start asking for help," Natori said with a sigh.

"There wasn't much you could do about the fire and the thing with Touku-san's sister happened a few days ago. There wasn't any time to tell anyone," Natsume said as he only picked at his plate.

"I guess it can't be helped," Natori said with a shake of his head.

"So…ah…what's the movie you're filming about?" Kyo asked knowing that the conversation was upsetting both of them. He knew that he did the right thing when Natsume gave him a relieved smile.

**~XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX~**

**Special Bonus:**

**AN: This is the whole conversation that Natsume and Natori were having with the yokai. At least you're now in on it unlike poor Kyo. It's also from Natsume's POV**

"Good," Natori said. He flashed the crowd one more smile before they all walked to a nearby café. It wasn't an overly fancy place but it looked nice. They choose a table in the very back. Natori sat across from them while he and Kyo sat next to each other.

"Natsume you never did say what you were doing here," Natori said.

"Touku-san's sister is sick. They're here to find a caretaker for her," Natsume explained.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Natori said. "And why is it that I haven't heard about your friend…"

"Are you ready to order?" the waitress asked as she poured them each a glass of tea. Natori then placed their order for them all. Natsume had no clue why the man was ordering so much food but Kyo seemed happy by it so he didn't say anything.

"So now about this childhood friend of yours," Natori said after the waitress had left.

"We ran into each other at the park," Natsume said as he watched Natori's 'birthmark' climb for his hand, up his wrist, and disappear under his sleeve. "We use to play there when we were little."

"What luck you two meeting again after all of these years," Natori said with and eerie smile. A smile Natsume wasn't particular fond of. It usually meant that his friend knew something that he didn't.

"Yeah Natsume is even staying with us while he's here," Kyo supplied.

"Well that's…" Natori started to say but Natsume let out a yelp and spilt his tea as Hiragi popped up from the table.

"_You'd think that you'd be use to yokai popping up by now," Hiragi admonished. _

"Natsume are you alright?" Kyo asked concerned as Natsume coughed on the tea he had been drinking. He was so busy trying to catch his breath he missed the glare that Kyo had sent Natori.

"I'm…fine," Natsume rasped trying to think of an excuse. "The tea was just…hot."

"You sure that's it. Your head's not bothering you is it?" Kyo asked.

"My head's fine," Natsume told him not wanting Kyo to blame himself for something that wasn't his fault.

"_What happened to your head?" Hiragi asked. "It looks fine to me."_

"I just fell off a chair," Natsume answered.

"It was little more than that," Kyo said and Natsume barely held in a sigh. He didn't want Natori overthinking anything.

"What exactly happened?" Natori asked.

"Me and my cousin got in a little…tiff this morning and Natsume accidentally got involved," Kyo explained.

"And that's all it was?" Natori asked. Natsume nodded quickly. He could tell by the man's tone that he was worried that he had been attacked by a yokai.

"Yeah, things have been…very uneventful," Natsume told. Which they had been. Oddly uneventful.

'_Except for that," Hiragi said as she pointed to his bruised shoulder._

"They didn't mean any harm," Natsume said as he rubbed his still sore shoulder.

"I would invite you to stay with me but I'm leaving tomorrow and my hotel room is small," Natori said with a sigh.

"Natsume's fine staying with us," Kyo said quickly. Almost defensively.

"_I've heard of the Sohma family they're quite rich and very powerful. There's also other rumors floating around about them but they are inconclusive," Hiragi said as she looked over at Kyo._

"_There's something different about the boy but I don't sense anything dangerous about him." _

"Kyo and his family have been very nice to me," Natsume told Natori not wanting him to think bad of his friend especially since Kyo went out of his way for him. "I didn't see anything last night at all except…" Natsume once again rubbed his shoulder, "and they apologized."

"_That's unusual as well. They may be nice but keep an eye on them. Natori would you like me to investigate the family?" Hiragi offered. Natori gave a slight nod of his head. "I'll be off then." With that said she disappeared. _

Natsume was so involved in his discussion with Natori and Hiragi that he didn't notice the baffled looks that his friend was giving them.

"I can see that. It's always nice finding a long lost childhood friend," Natori said as he gave Kyo a smile. One of his eerie ones but Kyo luckily didn't pick up on it.

"Yeah," Kyo agreed said with a small smile.

"Now here you go," the waitress said as she started putting several different plates on the table. "Is there anything else I can get you?"

"We're good for now. Thank you," Natori said giving the girl a smile that made her giggle and blush. "Eat up. I know how hungry growing boys are."

Natsume finally realized what this whole thing must have looked like to his friend. How odd it must have been. His friend though seemed unfazed and was shoveling in the food like he hadn't eaten in a year.

"Natsume what are you doing about school while you're here?" Natori asked.

"There was a…fire. They closed the school while they rebuild it so we were all given take home work to do," Natsume explained. He wasn't sure how the fire started. He was fairly certain yokai weren't involved, fairly being the keyword.

"I thought that you were going to start asking for help," Natori said with a sigh and also a little hurt leaked into his voice.

"There wasn't much you could do about the fire and the thing with Touku-san's sister happened a few days ago. There wasn't any time to tell anyone," Natsume said as he only picked at his plate. He didn't want the man to feel bad or like he left him out on purpose.

"I guess it can't be helped," Natori said with a shake of his head.

"So…ah…what's the movie you're filming about?" Kyo asked breaking the tension. Natsume gave his friend a grateful smile.


	4. Chapter 4

**Review Thanks:**

**Kashino Chiyuki-chan: **Thanks again! Unfortunately we never have much time to read each other's stuff.

**Guest: **Thank you very much Don't worry I won't stop updating anytime soon as I have several chapters done.

**stephomi: **Thank you! I'm glad that you like my story.

**AN: **I wasn't planning on updating today but it's my Birthday! So here's the next chapter unfortunately it's just a filler. Chapter 5 will be up on Friday and it's a big one. Thanks for the reads, the reviews, and alerts. Please enjoy the chapter and leave a review ;)

* * *

**Chapter 4**

They had just finished dinner and were now on their way back to Kyo's house with plenty of leftovers. Once Kyo had asked about the movie dinner went very smoothly and there was no more talk about Kyo's family or yokai. Natsume still wasn't comfortable with Hiragi looking into Kyo's family but if Kyo was in trouble he wanted to help him. He would just keep the book he saw a secret for now. He trusted Natori but not the people he worked with.

They passed a few yokai on their walk but Natsume paid them no mind and they didn't seem to notice him; he wanted to keep it that way. It was all going fine to until he heard a quiet voice call him from the bushes. He cautiously walked over to them.

"_Hi Natsume!" the little box boy squealed as he jumped out at him making Natsume fall backwards. _

"What are you doing here?" Natsume asked as he looked at the boy who was currently sitting on his lap.

"_I smelled you a few days ago and thought I would see what you were up to. It took me longer to get here than I thought," the child explained his ears going flat. "When I finally found you, you were spending all your time with him." _

Natsume glanced over at Kyo and saw that his friend finally noticed that he was no longer following. He must have thought that something was wrong as he steps quickened. Then again from Kyo's point of view he was sitting awkwardly on the ground with a fox on his lap. Kogitsune growled.

"Now be nice. Kyo is a childhood friend of mine," Natsume admonished.

"_Fine I'll be good," the boy grumbled not looking happy. _

"Thank you," Natsume said as he patted the boy between his ears hoping to appease him.

"Natsume are you alright?" Kyo asked as he looked down at him with concern.

"I'm fine," Natsume said not wanting Kyo to think him any odder than he already did. Kyo cocked his head to the side as he looked at him then the fox.

"That's a fox," Kyo said as he kneeled down next to him ignoring the strange looks they were getting from passersby. "It seems to like you." Natsume nodded glad that the boy in his lap hadn't done anything more than glare at Kyo. "Do…do you think it will let me pet it?"

Natsume looked down at the fox boy silently asking permission for his friend. The child gave a quick nod of his head and Natsume gave him a smile in return.

"Yeah he won't hurt you," Natsume told him. Kyo slowly reached out his head and then gently scratched the boy behind one of his ear. Kyo smiled. Not one of his smirks or shy smiles but a real smile.

"I've never touched a fox before," Kyo said as he continued to pet the fox and in turn the fox child was relaxing more and more. "He seems awful tame for a wild animal."

"He's just a cub," Natsume said hoping that Kyo would believe it.

"He hasn't learned to be afraid," Kyo mumbled. "I bet he's hungry." Kyo reached into one of the to-go-bags and pulled out a piece chicken before tentatively holding it out. The boy's eyes got big as saucers and looked up at Natsume for permission.

"Go ahead," he said with a nod.

"_Thank you!" the boy chirped as he took the piece of chicken and then ran back into the shrubbery. "I'll see you later Natsume!" _

"I think that was a thank you," Kyo said as he held out his hand. Natsume took it and let the taller boy help him to his feet.

"It was," Natsume said before he could stop himself. Luckily it seemed that Kyo didn't think anything of his comment.

"So, that happen to you often?" Kyo asked as they continued on their way.

"What?" Natsume asked.

"Getting attacked by wild animals," Kyo explained.

"Not really," Natsume said with a shrug. Animals not so much but yokai; that was another story entirely. He just hoped that tonight went as smoothly as last night. He didn't want to lose the only childhood friend he had because of his ability.

"Today has been something. It was worth missing the last half of school. I can't wait to tell everyone I ate lunch with a famous actor. Not to mention that I got to pet a fox," Kyo said.

"I had fun too," Natsume said. And he did.

"We'll have to do something really fun tomorrow to top today," Kyo said nonchalantly.

"Don't you have school?" Natsume asked.

"Screw school!" Kyo shouted and then kicked a pebble rather forcefully. "Like I told Shigure this morning I want to enjoy my senior year."

"As long as I don't get you into trouble," Natsume told him wondering why it was so important for his friend to enjoy his senior year and why his cousin that seemed to be in charge of his welfare was letting him skip school to spend time with him.

"You really worry about that," Kyo said with a chuckle. Natsume shrugged. He knew it was better if he didn't make waves and if Kyo kept missing school because of him.

"I just…" Natsume said not sure how to voice his thoughts. Kyo sighed as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I have a feeling that you and me are a lot alike," Kyo said quietly. "Come on." The taller boy then grabbed him by the arm and began pulling him down the street. "Can't have you getting attacked by anymore fox cubs."

Natsume looked at the hand wrapped around his arm curiously. Kyo seemed to be a very tactical person or at least with him. Not that Natsume minded it was just different. When they made it back to Kyo's house Natsume heard lots of voices; lots of loud voices. Kyo let out a long frustrated sigh as he hesitated to open the door.

"More family?" Natsume asked.

"Unfortunately," Kyo said as he ran his hand tiredly through his hair. "I have a…rather large, annoying family. Is your family big?"

"Ah…" Was his family big? He knew that he use to stay with family but they kept getting more and more distant until there was no blood relation at all. A look of understanding crossed Kyo's face.

"If they start bothering you don't be afraid to tell them off," Kyo said as he opened the door and the loud voices intensified.

_**~XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX~**_

When they walked inside they were immediately greeted by _where were yous_ and _what's in the bags_. Kyo looked around the room and saw two extra people were added to the mix; Aya and Haru. Kyo wasn't happy to see either. Aya was weird and Haru…well Haru had a temper and he did not want to expose Natsume like that.

"Did you have fun?" Tohru asked. During their meal Kyo had excuse himself to call her so she wouldn't make dinner for him and Natsume. He told her that he went out with another one of Natsume's friends just not who.

"We did," Kyo said feeling slightly smug at the thought of telling them. "What are you two doing here?"

"I came to meet this childhood friend of yours," Aya said dramatically. "I ran into Haru on the way here, lost of course, so I thought that I would bring him along."

"And how did you find out about Natsume?" Kyo asked as he glared at the dog who shrugged in response.

"You worry too much Kyo," Aya said flippantly. Kyo turned his glare to Aya. He would not let his family hurt Natsume.

"So what did you boys do this afternoon?" Shigure asked. "Tohru mentioned that a friend of Natsume's took you out to eat."

"Yeah he…" Kyo said and looked towards Natsume who was currently talking to Yuki. By the way Yuki had his head bowed and the flustered look on Natsume's face he had a feeling that his cousin was once again apologizing for the incident this morning. "Do you mind if I tell them?" He didn't want to say incase Natsume didn't want everyone to know.

"Ah…yeah," Natsume said as he excused himself from Yuki and stood next to Kyo. A little closer than what was necessary but he figured that his family was just overwhelming him.

"It must be someone good if he's asking permission," Aya muttered looking excited.

"It was Natori Shuuichi," Kyo said as everyone looked at them with jealousy.

"The Natori Shuuichi! The one that's filming here?!" Aya shouted. Natsume nodded. Aya's eyes got wide and before either of them could react Aya grabbed Natsume by the arm, pulled him into the living, and made him sit next to him on the couch where he began to ask questions not giving Natsume time to answer.

"Leave him alone," Kyo said as he grabbed the man by the back of the shirt and flung him on the floor before sitting down next to his friend who seemed to relax by his presence.

"Kyo's so mean," the man whined.

"That's because you're an idiot," Yuki said. Natsume looked confused and slightly upset by the display.

"Aya is Yuki's brother. He always acts this way," Kyo explained. "He pisses me and Yuki off. We yell at him. He whines. Shigure babies him." He pointed to show Natsume that was exactly what was happening.

"Ah…you have a very…interesting family," Natsume said as he looked around at the group but at the same time his eyes had a faraway look like he was seeing something else entirely.

"That's putting it mildly," Kyo grumbled.

"How did you meet him Natsume?" Tohru asked looking nearly exciting as Aya.

"I…ah….tripped and he caught me," Natsume said.

"How romantic," Aya with a big dramatic sigh.

"I wouldn't call it romantic," Natsume said looking embarrassed.

"So Natsume's a childhood friend of yours?" Haru asked ignoring Aya completely.

"Yeah what of it," Kyo said as he crossed his arms over his chest. Haru shrugged and didn't say anything else.

The rest of the evening went fairly smoothly. They all seemed interested in the meal he had with the famous actor. Kyo took most of the lead on the conversation. Natsume was asked a few times about his friendship with Natori but his answers were often vague or they were dodged completely. At least his family picked up on the subtle queues and stopped asking.

After a few more rounds of question Tohru suggested that they play a game which they did. At first Natsume seemed hesitant to join in but he eventually did, so Kyo tried to enjoy himself as well. Up to a point. Once Aya started whining again that was it. He excused himself for bed and a moment later he heard Natsume do the same. When they laid down for bed that night Kyo was happy when he didn't hear any crying.


	5. Chapter 5

**Review Thanks:**

**Guest 1: **Thank you! As for when Natsume finds out, well you'll see ;)

**Guest 2: **Well here it is! I did plan on putting it up earlier but my internet went down :(

**AN: **I'm not sure what kind of Arcade games they gave in Japan so I am just going to use the ones that I am familiar with. Also thanks for the reviews, alerts, and to those of you that just read. Enjoy the chapter and leave a review!

* * *

**Chapter 5 **

Kyo woke up slowly that morning. Since he wasn't going to school he saw no reason to hurry. He looked down and saw that Natsume was sleeping peacefully on the futon with no sign of tears dried on his face. Kyo hadn't realized how young his friend was; he was at least a few years younger than him. He blamed Natsume's eyes. They were so; the best way to describe them was old looking.

Not wanting to wake his friend Kyo got dressed quickly and quietly in his favorite pants and shirt before heading downstairs. He was in the kitchen pouring himself a glass of milk before he noticed something was missing. There was no noise. He looked at the clock and saw that it said ten.

"Mrs. Fujiwara called this morning," Shigure said startling him so bad that he nearly spilt his milk.

"Don't sneak up on people!" Kyo snapped. "What about Mrs. Fujiwara?"

"She said that they would be going back on Monday so I assumed that you would want to have today off," the man said with an odd look in his eyes.

"Thanks," Kyo mumbled surprised but he knew as well as Shigure did that he wouldn't be seeing his friend again.

"I remember your friend. Not every well but you smiled a lot when you played with him," Shigure said being oddly solemn. Kyo shrugged not sure what to say to that. The serious side of Shigure always creeped him out.

_**~XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX~**_

When Natsume woke up that morning it was to sunlight streaming through the window. He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. That was two nights in a row that he hadn't seen any yokai since…since he couldn't remember when. He knew that it was odd but it was nice sleeping without interruptions. Feeling hungry Natsume got dressed and headed downstairs.

He stopped when he heard Kyo and Shigure talking. He didn't want to be rude and interrupt them; he also didn't want to overhear something unpleasant. Although he really was enjoying spending his time with Kyo he was still worried that the Fujiwaras wouldn't take him back. If they didn't Natsume wasn't sure where he was going to go.

"Good norming Natsume," Shigure said breaking into his thoughts.

"Morning," Natsume replied.

"Breakfast is in the dining room. You boys enjoy yourselves today," the man said.

"Thank you," Natsume replied. The man gave him a smile, walked into his office, and closed the door.

"Hope you're hungry Tohru made breakfast and a lot of it," Kyo said once Natsume joined him in the dining room.

"That was nice of her," Natsume said as he joined his friend. "I'll have to thank her later." As Natsume ate he began to wonder who the girl was. Everyone he had met so far was a cousin but she…Natsume didn't think she was related. She didn't have the same _flicker_ as the rest of the family. With all of Kyo's cousins, Kyo included, they had this different energy about them and it was strongest last night with so many of them.

"Hey Natsume!" Kyo shouted as he waved a hand in front of his face breaking him out of his musings. "You feeling alright?"

"Ah…yeah. Just thinking about things," Natsume said and then began to eat his breakfast. His friend just shook his head clearly not believing him.

"Is there anything special you'd like to do today?" Kyo asked.

"Whatever you'd like to do is fine," Natsume told him.

"We could go to the arcade or a movie if you'd like," Kyo said after he thought about it a moment.

"Arcade sounds like fun," Natsume agreed.

"Great," Kyo said as he stood up. "You ready to go or do you want seconds?"

"I'm good," Natsume said as he also stood up. He double checked his satchel to make sure that he still had his book. When he looked up he saw Kyo giving him a curious expression.

"You never go anywhere without that bag," his friend commented.

"Ah…" Natsume said not sure how to explain that one.

"It was just an observation you don't have to get that look," Kyo said with a roll of his eyes. "Come on."

They had just stepped onto the main sidewalk when Natsume saw Nyanko-sensei walking with a smaller group of yokai. The cat gave him a wink and then continued on with his new drinking buddies.

"Did you see something Natsume?" Kyo asked.

"No," Natsume said with a shake of his head. Nothing he could tell Kyo about anyway.

He was happy to find that they didn't run into anymore yokai on the way to the arcade. Well there was a small bird type looking one. It seemed very interested in the black and white bracelet around Kyo's wrist. It kept muttering words like _pretty _and _shiny_. Natsume had to agree with the shiny part. He could actually see the spell woven in the beads themselves. He briefly wondered if Kyo knew how powerful it was; a charm like that didn't come cheap. Then again his family seemed very well off so he probably did. The yokai finally noticed that Natsume was watching. It let out a frightened squeak and ran off.

_**~XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX~**_

"Do you like skee ball?" Kyo asked him once they reached the arcade figuring that was a better question to ask than what do you want to play. When Natsume was given open-ended questions they seemed to make him nervous.

"I've never played it before," Natsume said as he looked around at all of the games.

"Really?" Kyo asked. Natsume shook his head. "Well it's pretty fun." Kyo started to explain how the game worked as he stuck the coin in and a row of balls came down. "The object is to get this ball into the fifty at the top or the hundred on either side by rolling it up the ramp. The other numbers work as well but you want to get the highest score possible." Kyo then demonstrated and smiled when he got it in one of the hundreds.

"You're good at this," Natsume said looking impressed.

"I've had a lot of practice," Kyo said embarrassed by the compliment. "You want to give it a try?" he held out one of the balls. Natsume took the ball gingerly from Kyo's hand. He then gently rolled the ball up the ramp only to have it come rolling back.

"You might want to try a little more force," Kyo told him quickly turning his chuckle into a cough. Natsume nodded in understanding. Once again Natsume rolled the ball up the ramp. This time it got up high but not high enough and it fell in the slot. Natsume frowned.

"Sorry I forgot to warn you about that part," Kyo said as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Wanna'nother go?"

"I'm not very good," Natsume said with a shake of his head.

"It's your first go at it. Come on I'll help you," Kyo said. He had Natsume stand in front of him. "Now you take the ball," he placed the ball in Natsume's hesitant hand, "you then aim the ball," he guided Natsume so he was standing in the right spot, "now you roll the ball like his," he gently grabbed the smaller boy's wrist and helped him roll the ball up the ramp. It went into the forty. "See you're not so bad."

"That was kind of fun," Natsume said as he stepped away.

It wasn't until Natsume wasn't standing so close to him that Kyo realized exactly what he had been doing. He wasn't on a date with Natsume they were just hanging out. He had to admit that he liked being close to the smaller boy but, he shook his head. He couldn't like Natsume like that. Not because he was a boy, although the revelation was slightly surprising, but because of who _he_ was. He couldn't allow himself to like anyone. He looked over at his friend and saw that Natsume looked unfazed. He didn't know if he was disappointed or relieved.

"Do you want another go?" Kyo asked as he held out a ball and tried not to blush when Natsume's fingers brushed his when he took the ball.

Natsume looked at the ball in his hand before looking at the game then back to the ball. He then walked up to the top of the machine, stood on his tip-toes, and dropped it one of the hundreds.

"I got one of the hundreds," Natsume said looking slightly smug.

"That's cheating," Kyo said with a raised eyebrow.

"It's easier this way," Natsume said with a shrug.

"I get it you don't skee ball," Kyo said with a roll of his eyes. "Do you mind if I finish the game?"

"Of course not," Natsume said. "I like watching you play." Kyo felt himself blush at the comment and decided not to read too much into it.

They ended up spending a few more hours at the arcade playing games and eating junk food because of that they decided to skip lunch. When they walked past the theater Natsume stopped and seemed interested in one of the movie posters. His eyes weren't doing that weird I'm see but not seeing, as Kyo had come to call it, thing.

"Do you want to see it?" Kyo asked him.

"I thought it looked interesting," Natsume said not giving him a definitive answer.

"It starts in fifteen minutes we might as well," Kyo said. He then walked up to the ticket booth and bought two tickets knowing that Natsume wouldn't say that he wanted to see it.

"Are you sure?" Natsume asked as they walked into the theater.

"Yeah, I thought it looked good as well. Now why don't you go and sit down and I'll get the popcorn and soda," Kyo told him. Natsume nodded and walked off while Kyo headed to the concession stand.

It wasn't until he was about to order that he realized how much of a date this was turning into. First the arcade and now a movie. Not to mention how much he was enjoying himself. Kyo couldn't remember the last time he had so much fun.

"How can I help you?" the man behind the counter asked.

"I…" Kyo said about to order the deal with the large popcorn and the jumbo soda then realized what a bad idea it was and quickly changed it to the large popcorn and two medium drinks instead. He didn't think it would be a good idea to share a soda. Once he had it loaded onto the tray Kyo headed off to find his friend.

He scanned the seats and saw that Natsume was sitting in the back row on the other side. He was staring at the seat next to him like it was something very interesting and it almost looked like he was talking to it but that didn't make sense as that would mean that Natsume would be talking to himself. Kyo had just about made to his friend when it felt like something ran into him and if it wasn't for Natsume's quick reflexes he would have dropped the popcorn and sodas.

"You alright Kyo?" Natsume asked looking guilty for some odd reason.

"I'm fine I just…" Kyo said as he looked around trying to find something that he might have tripped on but didn't see anything and not wanting to look even more like a spaz Kyo just chose to ignore it. "Never mind."

"Right," Natsume said still looking guilty. Kyo didn't have time to figure out why as the lights went out and the movie started. He tried to enjoy the film, he really did, but he spent most of it trying to ignore the fact that his hand would occasional brush Natsume's when they went for the popcorn at the same time. If they did this again tomorrow he was going to get them each their own popcorn as well as the sodas.

It was almost dark by the time they left the theater and were on their way back to Shigure's. They ended up seeing a second movie; Natsume insisted that he had to pay for something. Instead of buying new sodas and popcorn they just got refills which meant that they once again shared the popcorn. Kyo spent most of that movie trying to avoid Natsume's hand as much as possible.

There were halfway home when Natsume bumped into someone; literally. If Kyo hadn't grabbed onto the boy's arm he would have taken a tumble.

"What are you doing here?" Kyo snapped at his cousin Haru. His younger cousin had the same calm look he usually did but his eyes widened slightly when he noticed that Kyo was still holding onto Natsume's arm which he promptly let go of.

"You weren't at school today," Haru said as his eyes looked between the two of them.

"Way of stating the obvious," Kyo said with a roll of his eyes. "Let me guess you're lost." Haru nodded and Kyo sighed. "Natsume, why don't you wait at the park while I take this idiot home."

"Sure," Natsume said looking slightly confused but not complaining. His friend continued on to the park while he began to lead his cousin home.

"Why didn't you want your friend to come with us?" Haru asked him once Natsume was out of hearing.

"Because I don't want him anywhere the main house," Kyo said as he kicked a pebble.

"I don't blame you. He's a nice, normal kid," Haru said.

"Yeah and he's going home on Monday. Hopefully without anyone else finding out," Kyo told him shoving his hands in his pockets. He was both looking forward to that day and dreading it. Being lost in is owe musings he missed the look of sympathy that Haru gave him.

"Kyo?" Haru asked.

"What?" Kyo snapped a little harsher than he intended. Today had been an enjoyable one but it also had been confusing and he wasn't in the mood to deal with his family.

"Never mind," Haru muttered.

"Whatever," Kyo grumbled. "I take it you can find the house from here?" Haru nodded so Kyo turned around and headed back towards the park. He was nearly there when it felt like something was tugging on his hand and the next thing he knew his bracelet was gone!

* * *

**AN 2: **My first cliffy! Don't hate me too much. (Ducks and hides). Chapter 6 will be up next Friday.

**AN 3: **Need to explain the skee ball game. I realize that in real skee you can't drop it in but it's still a true story. My grandma use to take us to this pizza/arcade place. They had real skee ball which the adults plays and they had a much smaller one for the kids. Once I was twelve (if I used the machine on the end) I could stand on my tip-toes and just put it in the highest number. One of my little cousins would hand me the balls so we could do it faster. We'd get a lot of tickets that way ;)


	6. Chapter 6

**Review Thanks:**

**Kashino Chiyuki-chan: **Sorry you had to wait until Friday but here it is! Tell you what next time you visit if you want I'll let you read ahead ;)

**Guest: **Sorry for the confusion. By big I meant kind of their first date and ending with a cliffy. Most chapters for this story are going to be around 5 pages.

**Guest 2: **Thanks for reading this story even though it's not your favorite pairing. Unfortunately I am not familiar with the night Nura Rikuo of Nurarihyon no Mango so I wouldn't be able to write a good fanfic for the pairing.

**Guest 3: **Well here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!

**Meep: **Thank you and welcome! Don't worry I won't rush the story. Luckily I have several chapters already written for this story. I just need to type them up.

**AN: **Well here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy. Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and alerts. Chapter 7 will be up next Saturday (not tomorrow Saturday). Please leave a review!

* * *

**Chapter 6 **

Natsume watched as Kyo walked off with one of his many cousins before heading off to the park. He was curious as to why Kyo didn't want him to come along but he could tell that something was really bothering his friend. Maybe he just wanted to talk it over with his family.

He found it interesting how they all interacted. He had never seen such a big family before. They may be loud and energetic but he had a feeling that they all cared about each other or that could have been wishful thinking. After all Kyo was living with his cousin and not his parents.

"_Hi Natsume!" _the little fox boy waved excitedly as he walked into the park.

"Hi," Natsume greeted back with a smile.

"_I've been really good and didn't bother you at all. Did you have fun with your friend?" _he asked his tail wagging the entire time.

"Yeah I had a lot fun," Natsume said as he sat down in a swing. The boy immediately climbed up into his lap and made himself comfortable.

"_What did you do?" _the child asked curiously.

"Well," Natsume said as he started swinging and then he explained what he had done that day.

"_I want to see a movie," _the boy said wistfully.

"I'll take you someday," Natsume promised the child.

"Nice to hear that you had a fun day with your friend," Nyanko-sensei said as he wandered into the park. Natsume was pleased to see that he wasn't drunk. "I did as well by the way."

"I know, I saw you earlier," Natsume said as he looked shrewdly at the cat. "I haven't seen much of you since we got here."

"I've been busy," the cat said. Natsume sighed wanting to change subject. He didn't want to hear stories about his bodyguard's drunken exploits. "Besides its good for you to spend so much time with other humans," here the little fox stuck his tongue at the cat, "even if there is something strange about…"

He never got to finish because at that moment they heard a very loud roar. Natsume looked towards the sound and saw a very large, a very angry looking yokai and it looked as if it was attacking a smaller one.

"Stay here," Natsume said as he set the child down. He didn't want the boy to get hurt if there was a fight. "Let's go Sensei."

Natsume then ran towards the two yokai trusting the cat to follow. He wasn't really in the mood to fight and even less so now that it had started to rain still he couldn't let the smaller one get hurt and it didn't look dangerous. It wasn't even attempting to fight back. It was clear to him that the small yokai needed his help

"I hope you aren't going to do anything stup…" Nyanko-Sensei started to say but Natsume didn't listen as he skidded to a halt in front of the small yokai; the heavy rainfall already making the ground slick and muddy.

"Run I'll distract it!" Natsume shouted over his shoulder trying to yell over the thunder and the constant growls of the larger yokai. Not giving the small one a chance to say anything Natsume dashed off to the side and once again started running. Once he felt that he was far enough away he stopped and waved his arms frantically trying to call the creature's attention on himself.

"Over here! Hey over here!" the creature finally looked at him and its whole demeanor changed. Before it just looked angry and now it was absolutely livid and its eyes took on an eerie red glow. As Natsume took off running he was glad that they were no longer on the streets but a wooded area. This most likely meant that he was on Kyo's family's property so he had to be careful not to run to the house. Especially when he heard what the yokai was saying.

"_My name…give me back my name…Natsume Reiko…" _

"You couldn't leave well enough alone, could you?" Nyanko-Sensei scolded.

"Well it's looking for me so it was my fault to begin with," Natsume argued even though he hadn't known that at the time. The creature made a lunge for him and Natsume dodged it just in time but in doing so he slipped in the mud and went sliding down a small incline.

"Tch!" the cat said before transforming and scooped up him up just before the creature attacked again.

The rain seemed to be coming down even harder and the wind had picked up. The combination from the wind and the rain made it difficult to see but he could just make out the smaller yokai. It was in the exact same spot it was before. It almost looked too frightened to move. He could also see Shigure's house. Luckily neither him or the large yokai were near the house or the small yokai and Natsume wanted to keep it that way.

"That way Sensei," Natsume said as he pointed to a small abandoned looking shed. He hoped that it would keep him dry enough where he could find the name in the book and read it.

"_You intend to give its name back,"_ Madara grumbled.

"Yeah," Natsume replied.

"_There'll be nothing left of that book when I get it,"_ Madara said but did what Natsume asked without hesitation.

Natsume quickly slid off Madara's back and ran to the shed. Once inside he tried to calm his mind and think of the yokai's name doing his best to ignore the scuffle that he heard going on outside; Natsume knew that Madara could handle the other yokai but that didn't mean he didn't worry. The page with the name finally popped up. Natsume quickly but carefully pulled it from the book, put it in his mouth and blew; the memory of how his grandmother and the yokai met filing into his mind.

"_Thank you,"_ the yokai said softly as it slowly faded away like it was never there.

Feeling more tired than he usually did Natsume slid down the wall and sat there trying to figure out how he was going to explain his messy appearance to Kyo and his family. He was having such a fun day to. He wondered if Kyo was at the park waiting for him or if he just went home when he saw that Natsume wasn't there. He figured that Kyo probably went back home because of the storm. Nyanko-sensei had turned back into his cat form and seemed content enough to wait inside the shed with him until he caught his breath.

"_Natsume!" _a familiar voice called. Natsume looked outside and saw the little fox boy cradling something in his arms trying as best as he could to shield it from the rain. Kogitsune was looking around frantically.

"In here," Natsume called out. The boy finally looked in his direction and gave him a relieved smile.

"_Natsume I'm so glad I found you!" _the fox child said as he stepped inside._ "I went to check on that yokai you were protecting and I saw him…he turned into…" _the boy seemed to be having trouble explaining so he showed them instead. It was a small orange cat that was apparently asleep or dead. Natsume gingerly took it from the child and let out a sigh of relief; it was breathing.

"That is no yokai or a simple cat," Sensei explained as he sniffed the animal. "Natsume you might want to set him down." He looked at the cat curiously but did what he was asked.

He barely laid the cat down when there was a puff of smoke and when it cleared instead of a cat lying there it was Kyo; a very naked Kyo. Natsume let out a yelp of surprise, stumbled backwards, and hit his head on the wall.

"_It's Natsume's friend!" _Kogitsune said as he looked down at the unconscious Kyo.

"Would you mind finding some clothes for him," the cat said as he looked at the boy.

"_Ah, right," _the boy said and then took off in rain without hesitation. While they were talking Natsume tried to cover Kyo the best he could with his jacket which wasn't easy given how much of a height difference they had.

"So I take it that you wanted to talk to me alone," Natsume said once the child was gone. The cat nodded.

"Did you notice anything odd about Kyo or his family?" Nyanko-sensei asked.

"Well…ah…they flicker," Natsume said quietly.

"Flicker?" the cat asked curiously. Natsume nodded. "I can see it sometimes out of the corner of my eye but when I try to focus on it, it isn't there. They also have this energy about them and it's even stronger the more of them there are but nothing bad."

"I see," Sensei said looking thoughtful. "I was talking to the local yokai about the family. They don't really know anything but they avoid the homes owned by the family and they have for a very long time."

"Until tonight," Natsume mumbled. If he hadn't come his friend never would have been in danger. "Why did he change?"

"Most likely a curse. From what you're saying it sounds as if other members of his family are cursed as well," the cat said.

"_I found some clothes!" _the little boy said as he came back in his arms full of more than enough clothes.

"Where'd you get all of that?" Natsume asked his eyes wide.

"_On a string outside so it's pretty wet," _the boy said as he dropped his load and then shook himself off splashing everyone in the process.

"Watch it you…" the cat snapped and the two started to bicker.

Natsume ignored them both as he dug through the pile of clothes trying to find something that might fit Kyo. He found a pair of jeans and a black shirt near the bottom. Natsume saw that they would fit his friend perfectly and he realized that they were probably his. The clothes that they little fox boy found must have come off the laundry line at Shigure's house. He laid out the clothes flat and hoped they would be dry by the time Kyo woke up. He also found a yukata and even though it was wet he used that to cover his friend; it did a much better job of it than his jacket. Even though it didn't seem to bother the other two that Kyo was laying their naked it bothered him.

The storm outside continued to worsen and everyone inside the shed began to settle. The little fox boy was snuggled up against him fast asleep, Nyanko-sensei was looking outside at the storm and Natsume felt himself begin to doze off that was until his friend stirred. Kyo blinked his eyes a few times and then slowly sat up the yukata slipped off his shoulder and pooled around his waist.

His friend looked around the shed with the most confused look on his face until he spotted him; then his eyes went wide like his was frightened. Not that Natsume could blame him. After all because of him and his book he could have got Kyo killed. Being lost in his own thoughts Natsume missed the same look of turmoil that was on Kyo's face.

"One of you is eventually going to have to speak up," Nyanko-sensei said as he looked between the two of them.

"It talks!" Kyo said as he looked down at the cat in shock and disbelief. "Cats like me but I've never heard one talk before!"

"I'm not a cat! I'm…" Sensei started to say but Natsume hit on the back of the head not in the mood for one of his rants.

"Sorry Kyo I didn't mean for this to happen," Natsume said as he looked at his friend hoping that he believed him.

"You're sorry?" Kyo asked shock and disbelief clearly on his face. "You saw what I turned into. I'm dangerous…" Natsume couldn't help but chuckle at hearing that. He would hardly call Kyo dangerous. "I…what's so funny?"

"Did you or do you not see that yokai that almost killed you?" Sensei asked.

"I…you mean that was real? That wasn't a dream?" Kyo asked looking more confused than ever. Natsume nodded the guilt coming back.

"That's why I'm sorry. It was looking for me," Natsume told him.

"A yokai was looking for you?" Kyo asked slowly. Natsume nodded and then licked his lips. He knew that he didn't have a choice and he had to let Kyo in on his secret.

"I can see yokai," Natsume told him.

"You can see Yokai," Kyo repeated like he wasn't believing what he was hearing. Natsume nodded. "Ah, since when?"

"I can't remember not being able to see them," Natsume answered surprised by the question. This was usually when people called him a liar or say that he was just looking for attention. "You believe me?" Kyo chuckled humorlessly.

"First I saw it and from what I know about my family," Kyo shook his head, "how could I not."

"And what about your family," the cat asked as he looked directly at Kyo.

"It's a long stor…" Kyo started to say and then got a panicked look on his face when he glanced down at his wrist. "My bracelet. I need it before…" Natsume was just about to help his friend when he heard someone speak. He looked outside and saw the same small birdlike yokai from earlier that day.

"_Excuse me I_," it said seeming nervous. _"I um… I'M REALLY REALLY SORRY! IT WAS JUST SO PRETTY I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF! IT WAS SO PRETTY AND SHINEY! I DIDN'T KNOW HE NEEDED IT!" _the small yokai screeched making the fox boy cover his ears with his hands. The yokai then handed it over still looking extremely guilty. Natsume looked up at his friend and saw that he had the most curious expression on his face.

"Are you talking to one?" Kyo asked hesitantly.

"Yeah," Natsume said as he handed the bracelet over again surprised by Kyo's reaction. "He says that he's sorry and that he didn't know that you needed it." As soon as he handed it back Kyo slipped it on his wrist and visibly relaxed.

"Tell him…tell him it's alright but tell him he can't do it again," Kyo said quietly. The small yokai broke out into a big grin.

"_OH THANK YOU! THANK YOU! AND I WON'T TAKE ANYMORE SHINY BRACELETS!"_ it squealed as it ran off.

"You really were just talking to one just now," Kyo said as he looked at his bracelet and then blushed furiously. "I…ah…do you happen to have…ah… any clothes?"

"Oh!" Natsume said blushing also. "There's some in the back." Kyo nodded and Natsume looked outside giving his friend the privacy to change.

"_Tell him I found them all on a long string!"_ the little fox boy said sounding proud of himself.

"These are actually my clothes and this is Shigure's favorite yukata," Kyo said as Natsume turned back around.

"I figured. He," Natsume then patted the boy on the head, "found your clothes on the line and brought them to us."

"He's the same fox from the other night," Kyo said as he studied him. Natsume nodded. "So he's actually a fox yokai?"

"More like a cub," Sensei quipped. The little fox boy growled at him and the two of them started to wrestle. Natsume ignored them completely and so did Kyo.

"That yokai kept calling your bracelet shinny. I saw him this morning and he said the same thing but I didn't think anything of it. I'm sorry I didn't think he'd take it," Natsume told his friend.

"That's not your fault Natsume," Kyo said looking surprised by the apology. "Why would he call it shinny?"

"He probably sees the spell on it," Natsume said as he looked at the bracelet.

"Can you see the spell?" Kyo asked. Natsume nodded.

"I thought that it was a protection spell," Natsume said.

"I guess you could call it that," Kyo said with a small, sad, chuckle.

"So, about this curse on your family?" Nyanko-sensei said now that he was done fighting with the fox cub.

"Who said anything about a curse?" Kyo asked.

"What else would it be?" the cat said as he sat down looking smug. "Natsume explained what he could do now it's your turn."

"Sensei," Natsume said with disapproval. If Kyo didn't want to talk about it he wasn't going to force him.

"No it's fine. He's right. It's just complicated." Kyo then launched into a very long story about how members of his family were cursed and how it dealt with the Chinese zodiac. "Since I'm the cat I'm double cursed. That's why I need the bracelet. It keeps me from changing into…well you saw what I turned into."

"I'm sorry Kyo," Natsume said able to relate to his friend.

"You need to stop apologizing," Kyo sighed. "None of this is your fault." Natsume shrugged in response. It was his fault that Kyo was attacked.

"I'll help you break the curse," Natsume said with a yawn the day finally catching up to him. He heard Kyo start to argue with him but he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. Feeling completely drained Natsume laid down and let himself fall asleep.

_**~XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX~**_

"Natsume I don't think you realize how powerful and dangerous my family is. It's bad enough that you're friends with me but if my family has any hint of you knowing about the curse," Kyo said as he looked out at the storm hoping to talk sense into his friend. When he didn't hear an argument he thought he had won and turned around only to see that his friend was sleeping. He watched as the fox cub…no fox yokai curled up next to him and also went to sleep. Kyo ran his hands tiredly through his hair. This had to be some wacky dream.

"He won't listen to your arguments," the cat said.

"What?" Kyo asked feeling slightly befuddled. He always had an affinity with cats and the creature sitting before him was definitely not a cat.

"Natsume is an idiot and has no sense of self preservation," the cat said as he glanced at the sleeping boy. "When you were in your other form he saved you from that yokai even though he didn't know who you were. Now that he knows that one of his friends needs help…"

"I thought that I was seeing things when he jumped in front of me," Kyo said as he crawled over to his friend. Noticing that he looked cold Kyo covered him and the cub with the discarded yukata. He couldn't stop himself from running his hands through Natsume's hair and frowned when he noticed how warm he felt. He saw that the cat was watching him shrewdly and quickly pulled his hand back.

"Is he going to be alright?" Kyo asked as he sat near his friend. "I mean he fell asleep so quick."

"The…fight wore him out. He'll be fine once he gets some rest," the cat explained. Kyo had a feeling that there was more that they weren't telling him but he didn't want to press the issue. His head was already swimming with all of the information that he was just given. To think that yokai were real.

Kyo could feel himself nodding off as well even though he tried to stay awake; the storm raging outside wasn't helping any. As he fell asleep that night he couldn't help wondering if this was all just a dream and hoping that it was just as much as it wasn't.


	7. Chapter 7

**Review Thanks:**

**Guest 1: ** Thanks for the review! Yes most chapters will be fairly short some will be longer though. And I will update once a week usually on Friday or Saturday. I watch my niece and nephew a few days a week and they keep me pretty busy ;)

**Guest 2: **I was reading through the chapter when I got your review so here's the next chapter!

**Kashino Chiyuki-chan: **All right here's the next chapter although I'm not sure if you can get this where you are. I'll see you later though and you can read it then and ahead if you like ;)

**AN: **Well here's Chapter 7. Originally this was chapters 7 and 8 but chapter 8 was really short and all filler so I decided to put it with chapter 7. Next chapter will be up on Friday and if not Friday then Saturday. Please leave a review!

* * *

**Chapter 7 **

Kyo woke up the next morning stiff, sore, and to quiet voices. He opened his eyes and didn't recognize where he was. He slowly sat up and saw Natsume sitting there with a fox in his lap and his cat nearby.

"Good morning Kyo," Natsume said with a smile.

"So last night wasn't a dream," Kyo said. Natsume shook his head. Now that there was light Kyo was able to see his friend clearly. His clothes were covered in mud and he was paler than usual. In short his friend looked a mess. "What were you thinking jumping in front of me! You could have gotten really hurt!"

"You needed my help," Natsume said as if that explained everything.

"I could have hurt you. I'm dangerous…" Kyo tried to tell him but Natsume did that little chuckle again.

"If you were dangerous you would have fought back," Natsume told him.

"You saw how I looked…" Kyo tried to explain. "I'm monster." Here Natsume sighed.

"Kyo I have be able to see yokai my whole life. You are far from the most frightening thing I've seen," Natsume said suddenly looking far older than his age. Kyo shivered at the thought of things more frightening looking than him.

"Haven't you seen yokai before?" the cat asked.

"No, last night was the first time," Kyo said with a frown, "and I can't see them now."

"Maybe it has to do with your forms," Natsume mumbled to himself. "I'll have to look into that." That's when the fox in his lap started yipping excitedly.

"Why?" Natsume asked as he looked down at the animal.

The little fox cub chirped several times.

"I don't think he can do it at will," Natsume said patiently.

"Can't do what at will?" Kyo asked curiously. He didn't really like being able to only hear one side of a conversation; it was very frustrating.

"He says that he liked you better as a cat," Natsume explained.

"I believe the word he used was kitty," the cat said with a smug look. Kyo glared at him.

"No I can't do it at will. Only if I hug a girl or if I get weak or too stressed," Kyo explained looking directly at the fox. He had a feeling that it was listening to him by the way his tail was twitching. "Like when it rains. Rain makes me feel kind of yucky. Which means Tohru is probably having a panic attack because we didn't come home last night. We should probably head back not only is she freaking out but you look a little off," Kyo rested his hand on Natsume's forehead without even thinking about it, "you still feel warm too."

"Huh?" Natsume said looking confused as he touched his forehead also.

"I noticed you felt warm last night," Kyo said once again feeling himself blush; it didn't help that cat was giving him that shrewd look again. He then stood up with Natsume following suit.

"I'm going home with Kyo now. I'll play with you later," Natsume said to the fox cub. It gave a disappointed chirp then ran off. Kyo watched it run then glanced towards his friend. He had to make Natsume understand how dangerous his family was.

"Natsume it's important that you don't let anyone else in the family know that you know about our curse. Most of them aren't bad but the head of our family, Akito…he's very dangerous." Kyo warned him.

"Alright and don't tell them mine. Most people don't believe me or they don't understand. Yokai have their dangers too. Like last night that yokai probably went after you because it smelled me on you," Natsume said looking very serious and very guilty.

"I won't," Kyo assured him and shivered at the idea of that thing wanting to attack Natsume. "I can keep a secret."

"Me too," Natsume said with a smile then coughed harshly.

"I knew you're getting sick," Kyo sighed.

"I'm fin…" Natsume said and then coughed again unable to finish his sentence. "I don't want to trouble anyone."

"You don't want to…" Kyo shook his head. "You're not troubling anyone Natsume and it's no surprise you're sick what with what happened last night and with that storm. Not to mention falling sleep in your wet clothes." Natsume gave him an odd look and not giving him another chance to argue Kyo grabbed him by the hand and led him to the house. They were near the entrance to the grounds when Kyo heard the bushes rustle.

"Well I'm off," the cat said as he started to walk away. "Keep an eye on him for me and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." The cat jumped into the bush after the noise and Kyo swear he heard something about sake.

"Typical," Natsume grumbled before he coughed again. Kyo opened his mouth to ask a question and quickly closed it not even wanting to know how the cat going off to drink sake was normal.

"Come on," Kyo said as he continued to lead Natsume down the main path towards the house. They were half way there when he spotted Yuki and Tohru walking towards them.

"Kyo! Natsume!" the girl shouted as she ran towards them. "We were so worried when you didn't come home last night…Natsume you look terrible what happened?"

"We got caught in the storm and had to spend the night in a shed. I was too lightheaded to walk home," Kyo explained quickly. "I think Natsume might have gotten a cold." Right on cue Natsume let out a harsh cough.

"Oh!" the girl exclaimed. "I'll go run you a bath." She then took back off towards the house.

"You got caught in the storm. That's it?" Yuki asked skeptically.

"That's it," Kyo said as he glared at his cousin. Natsume coughed again and Yuki's stance softened considerably.

"Better get him back to the house. He really does look terrible," Yuki turned around and started to walk back to house but at a much slower pace.

"Did I get you in trouble?" Natsume asked him.

"First I'm not in trouble and second if I was it wouldn't be your fault," Kyo tried to reassure his friend.

"Kyo's right Natsume. No one is in trouble. Tohru just worries," Yuki said giving one of his patented smiles.

"Oh," Natsume said not looking very reassured. Kyo had a feeling that Natsume was one of the few people that could see through his cousin's smiles.

"Hello boys," Shigure said as they entered the house. "Natsume, Tohru drew a bath for you why don't you clean up before you get sicker." Natsume looked between all three of with an uncertain look on his face. It looked as if his friend took his warning a little too seriously.

"It'll be fine and Shigure's right we don't want you sicker," Kyo told him as he gently shoved him towards the bathroom.

"Okay," Natsume said before he walked into the bathroom.

"So what happened last night?" Shigure asked once the bathroom door closed. Kyo rolled his eyes.

"Like I already told him," Kyo said as he pointed to Yuki, "nothing happened. I was showing Natsume around the grounds when the storm came out of nowhere and as usual I got sick. We stayed in the shed to wait it out and fell asleep."

"Yes, we all know how you get when it rains," Yuki added. Kyo felt like punching him but he held back.

"Do you think if I turned into a cat Natsume would be as calm as he is!" Kyo snapped. Not lying exactly. Just leaving a few details; okay several details.

"Guess not," Yuki said. Kyo glared at him not understanding why he was in on this conversation anyway. He could understand Shigure but not Yuki.

"I think you and Natsume should stay in today," Shigure said. "Natsume's not feeling well and we're going to get another storm later this afternoon."

"Wonderful," Kyo said as he rolled his eyes. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck in the house all day. But Shigure was right, Natsume was ill and at least the rain would keep the rest of the family away. "I'll be upstairs if anyone needs me."

"Kyo, why don't you take a shower as well. We don't want anyone else to get sick," Shigure called after him. Kyo didn't respond but he took a quick shower anyway. Then flopped down on his bed as last night and this morning played over in his mind.

In some ways it didn't feel real and yet he knew that it was. The creature that he saw last night. The one that nearly attacked him. Just the thought of it made him shudder. He couldn't imagine always seeing things like that. Things like him. Then again Natsume found the idea of him being dangerous funny. He never thought that someone would find his monstrous form funny.

About ten minutes later the door to his bedroom slowly opened and Natsume walked in. The boy was wearing one of Shigure's yukatas that was far too big on him. It was constantly slipping off his slim shoulders and it was so long that the hem was pooled on the floor around his feet. He had a towel around his shoulders that was catching the water from his still dripping hair. The sight of the other boy like that made Kyo blush. Natsume was too cute for his own good and what made it worse was that he was completely unaware of it.

"My bag was up here," Natsume explained.

"I'm sorry I should have brought it down," Kyo said as he stood up and walked over to his friend. "Are you feeling any better?" He put his hand on Natsume forehead and frowned when he noticed that his friend was still warm.

"Yeah," Natsume said and then coughed rather harshly.

"Sure you are," Kyo said with a roll of his eyes. "And you're going to get sicker unless you dry your hair." He took the towel from Natsume's shoulders and thoroughly dried his friend's hair trying not to think about how attracted he was to the smaller boy.

"Sorry," Natsume said with a yawn.

"Now why don't you lie down and try to get some sleep." For a moment he thought Natsume was going to argue with him but he just sighed. Natsume laid down on the futon and wrapped himself in a blanket. Not liking how warm Natsume felt Kyo walked into his bathroom, wet a washcloth with cold water and placed it on Natsume's forehead.

"Thank you," the smaller boy muttered his voice horse.

"Sure thing," Kyo said as he pulled the blanket up.

He debated with himself if he should stay or leave. Natsume's harsh breathing decided it for him; Kyo would stay incase Natsume needed him. After the way Natsume protected him last night it was the least he could do. Kyo knew that he would never forget the way the smaller boy jumped in front of him. Someone protecting the monster. Kyo never thought he would see the day.

Kyo watched his friend sleep a few moments more realizing that whatever these feelings were for the other were growing. Something that he tried to stomp down. He couldn't risk Natsume that way. If Akito ever found out, Kyo shook his head. He knew that his friend could handle himself but he also knew that Natsume would do things to protect him and Kyo didn't want his friend to have to do that. With a sigh Kyo got up, grabbed a book and sat on his bed. The only sounds to be heard was Natsume's harsh breathing and rain splattering against his window.

_**~XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX~**_

Natsume spent most of Saturday sleeping with Kyo hovering. He had never had anyone hover over him before and he wasn't sure what to make of it. Sure Touku-san took care of him but she didn't sit with him. The yokai would sometimes sit with him but they usually kept him awake. Kyo on the other hand sat with him most of the day and was always asking if he needed anything. It was an interesting feeling and kind of nice.

It was now Sunday and the two of them were out enjoying the nice weather. Natsume glanced at his friend. He could tell that there was something bothering Kyo but his friend wouldn't tell him what it was.

"You sure you want to see a movie again?" Natsume asked Kyo and then cough lightly.

"I think it would be best," Kyo said looking at him out the corner of his eye. Natsume shook his head. He had wanted to do something today and Kyo insisted if they did that it had to be inside so they settled on a movie.

They didn't talk much on their way to the theater. Kyo was obviously lost in his own thoughts and Natsume was as well. He was having a hard time believing that Kyo was so calm about the whole yokai thing. Then again Kyo had his own set of problems. There had to be a way that he could help his friend. He knew that he could never stop seeing yokai but curses on the other hand were breakable. Natsume was taken out of his musing when the little fox boy darted out in front of them.

"_Hi Natsume! Hey Kyo!" _he said excitedly including his friend even though Kyo couldn't understand him._ "Where are you going today?"_

"We're going to see a movie," Natsume told him

"_Can I come?" _he asked._ "I've always wanted to see a movie and you said you'd take me."_

"I…" Natsume said not sure how to answer as he wasn't going to the movie alone.

"What's the matter?" Kyo asked looking from one to the other.

"He wants to come with us," Natsume said as he looked up at his friend.

"I don't think they allow foxes in the theater," Kyo said as he looked directly at the cub which Natsume appreciated. Kyo seemed to understand the fact that yokai could understand him even if he couldn't in return.

"_Natsume tell him about my medicine," _the boy said. Natsume sighed and then explained to Kyo about the medicine.

"Oh, well I guess it would be alright, if Natsume says it's okay," Kyo said.

"_Thank you!"_ the fox cub squealed. He then darted into the bushes and a moment later a small boy came crawling out.

"You really can turn into a little boy," Kyo said looking surprised. The boy nodded.

"But only for a little bit but at least now I can talk to you," the boy said with a huge smile as he looked up at Kyo.

"Come on," Natsume said as he grabbed the child's hand.

"You don't seem surprised to see him like…" Kyo said as he looked down at the boy.

"Ah, that's how I always see him," Natsume explained.

"I guess that makes sense," Kyo muttered quietly. Natsume looked at him curiously. "I mean that they can turn into humans if we can turn into animals."

"Yeah! When I get bigger I'll be able to control it and I won't need my medicine anymore," the little fox boy shook his head vigorously. "Maybe you can learn to control yours too. I like you when you're a kitty!"

"I never really thought about," Kyo said with a curious expression. "But me being a kitty is a secret. Just like it's a secret that you're really a fox."

"Oh I'm sorry," the little boy said as he covered his mouth.

"Don't worry about it," Kyo said as he ruffled the boy's hair.

"Hey Natsume," Kogitsune said. Natsume looked down at the child. "What's a movie?"

"You want to see one even though you don't know what it is," Natsume said. The boy nodded.

"I hear humans talk about them all the time. They sound really fun!" the boy said excitedly.

"Well you're about to find out," Kyo said as he held the door open for them.

"Wow!" the boy exclaimed as they walked inside.

"Why don't you pick out a snack. My treat," Kyo told him.

"Thank you!" the little boy squealed as he ran to the stand and began to look at all the goodies.

"Thank you for letting him come along," Natsume said as he looked up and gave his friend a smile.

"Don't mention it," Kyo muttered his face looking red.

"Kyo did you catch my cold?" Natsume then stood on his tip-toes and place his hand on Kyo's forehead. He had barely touched the other boy when Kyo pulled away.

"I feel fine," Kyo said. "So let's go see what he wants."

"Sure," Natsume frowned at his friend wondering what was wrong with him. The older boy had been edgy all day. Kyo finally relaxed during the movie and seemed to delight in the fact that the little fox cub was having so much fun.

They were about half way back to Shigure's house when the little fox cub turned back to his animal form. Natsume told Kyo that he wanted to find a safe place for him and that he'd be right back.

"_What's wrong Natsume? You look so serious,"_ the child said.

"I need you to do a favor for me," Natsume told him.

"_Of course!"_ he said his ear perking up.

"Can you keep an eye on Kyo for me? I'm going home tomorrow but I want to help him…"

"_You can count on me,"_ the little boy said with a nod.

"Thank you," he told the child. Natsume watched as he ran off to Shigure's house already making good on his word. He didn't like asking the boy for help but he had a bad feeling that something was going to happen to Kyo. There was something that his friend wasn't telling him. And Natsume was going to find out what it was.


	8. Chapter 8

**Review Thanks: **

**Guest: **Thank you very much! I hope you enjoy the story ;) I will work on the run-on sentences. Thanks for the advice.

**AN: **Well here's Chapter 8! The next chapter will be up on Friday or Saturday depending on my schedule. Please leave a review!

**Chapter 8 **

* * *

_3 months later…_

Kyo was walking home with Yuki after school feeling depressed. Tohru would have brightened things slightly but she had to work that day so all he had was his cousin. He had to admit that their relationship improved slightly as they really didn't fight anymore; mostly because Kyo didn't see the point. Even if he did happen to beat Yuki he knew that Akito would go back on his word. It started to rain and Kyo let out a long sigh. He hated the rain and what made it even worse they didn't have any umbrellas.

"What? How did they get there?" Yuki asked. Kyo looked at his cousin and saw that he was pointing down at the ground. That's when he noticed two large leaves and he swore he saw a red tail disappear off into one of the bushes.

"We can use these as umbrellas," Kyo said as he picked them up then handed one over. He had seen the fox…boy…yokai a lot since Natsume had left. In fact Kyo had gotten into the habit of leaving food out for him.

"You alright?" Yuki asked.

"Besides the fact that it's raining, I'm fine," Kyo said not in the mood to have a heart-to-heart especially with Yuki.

"You haven't been the same since Natsume left. Were you two really that close?" his cousin asked him.

"It doesn't matter," Kyo said and it didn't. They had called each other a few times and written a few letters but that was it. That's all it would ever be too.

The school year wasn't even half done but it might as well have ended. He couldn't change his fate. He knew that both Tohru and Natsume were trying to break the curse but there was only so much that they could do. He didn't want to put Tohru in more danger and Natsume was in enough danger as well.

"Kyo I…" his cousin started to say and then shook his head like he had changed his mind. "I still wonder where these came from."

"Yeah, I wonder…" Kyo said as he looked up at his with a smile.

"What's that smug look for?" Yuki asked. Kyo shrugged in response liking the fact the he was annoying his cousin. His good mood disappeared in an instant though when he saw Hatori's car parked in front of the house. His thoughts mirrored Natsume's own from three months ago. He had a very bad feeling.

And he was right. Hatori said that Akito wanted to see him and when Akito wanted to see someone there was no arguing with that decision. Kyo wordlessly handed his backpack over to Yuki and in no time at all he found himself sitting in a small room at the main house with Akito. Kyo knew by the smirk on Akito's face that this wasn't going to be a pleasant visit; not that they ever were.

"I hear you met someone," Akito said.

"Met isn't the exact word I would use," Kyo grumbled.

"No I suppose not," Akito sneered. "A childhood friend is what I heard. I didn't think _you_ of all people would have childhood friends."

"Well you would be wrong," Kyo said before he could stop himself. Akito slapped him, hard, for that.

"What do you think your precious friend would do if he saw your true form?" Akito asked with a look of satisfaction.

"Oh, I don't know," Kyo said trying to sound bored as possible knowing what he was about to say would be idiotic, but at this point he really didn't care, "laugh."

Akito beat him senseless for that then had him drug away. He was locked in a dark room with one door and one small window with bars on it. The whole time Akito was screaming that his time was up. This hardly surprised Kyo. In fact it was almost a relief. At least he didn't have to worry about when it was going to happen anymore.

_**~XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX~**_

Kogitsune watched as Kyo got into the car in with a tall man with black hair. Kyo didn't look very happy about it and neither did his cousin. He knew that if Kyo's cousin looked worried about him that wasn't a good thing. So he decided to follow the car and growled when he saw where it was going. 'The Main House' as Kyo and the others called it.

Kyo went inside with the tall man and Kogitsune decided to wait in the bushes for Kyo but his friend never came out. He was really beginning to worry about him. Wanting to make sure that his friend was safe Kogitsune gathered up his courage and carefully began to search the grounds. It was a very big and scary looking place but Natsume gave him a job to do. Not only that he liked Kyo. He gave him food and would play with him. He needed to help his friend.

It took Kogitsune awhile but he eventually caught the scent of his friend. He followed it to a small window. It wasn't high up on the wall but he wasn't that tall either. He had to jump a few times before he was able to grab on to the ledge and was able to look inside.

The room wasn't very big and it was very dark with no furniture; basically nothing nice at all. He spotted Kyo lying on the floor just staring up at the ceiling. He looked hurt and really, really sad. Kogitsune let go and dropped to the ground. He had to get help! He had to tell Natsume!

He ran as fast as he could to find some help. The small fox knew one place he could go. He just hoped they'd help him. He shook his head. No he'd make them help. Natsume and Kyo were counting on him. It took him longer than he liked but he finally reached the spot where the yokai liked to hang out and drink.

"What are you doing here cub?" one of them snapped.

"Yeah this is no place for children," another one growled.

"I…ah…Natsume's friend needs help!" he blurted out. They all stopped and stared at him.

"I owe Natsume and his friend," one of the smaller bird yokai said. "What do you need?"

"I need to tell someone to tell Natsume that they have Kyo locked up in a horrible room at the main house," Kogitsune explained.

"Right. I'll go tell Natsume…ah where is he?" the yokai asked.

"I know where Natsume lives. He was nice to me at the human theater. I'll show you," another yokai volunteered. The two yokai then took off. With his task complete Kogitsune started to make his way back to Kyo gathering things along the way his friend might need.

_**~XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX~**_

Kyo thought that he was imagining the scratching outside his so-called window until a small fox tumbled in the room. He thought he was hallucinating. He knew that Kogitsune had been hanging around but he couldn't be here. He would have no reason to be. That was until the fox yipped and transformed into a boy.

"Kyo are you okay?" Kogitsune asked worriedly. "You look all beat up."

"It's not as bad as it looks," Kyo reassured him. "What are you doing her…" He started to ask and then stopped when he heard someone walking down the hallway. He quickly shoved the child behind him. The last thing he wanted was for Akito to discover him. Luckily they only opened the slot in the door and shoved a tray in. Kyo let out a sigh of relief when he heard them walk away.

"That doesn't look very good," the boy said as he poked the stale piece of bread.

"No, it doesn't," Kyo looked down at it and his stomach growled. He was hungry but not that hungry. Besides chances were that they did something nasty to it.

"I know," the boy said as he dug in the bag he had around his neck. "Here I just picked them for you." In his hands the boy held several berries most of which were squished.

"Thank you," Kyo said as he took them. Even though they were smashed they were a better meal than they bread. "I really appreciate the help but you shouldn't be here. It's too dangerous."

"I'm not leaving. Natsume asked me to keep an eye on you so that's what I'm going to do," Kogitsune said stubbornly.

"Natsume asked you to watch me?" Kyo asked not knowing if he should be insulted that his friend didn't think he could he could take care of himself and set a child to look after him or happy that he cared so much. The boy nodded.

"I already sent word to him so he should be here soon," the boy explained further.

"Natsume's on his way? Here?" Kyo asked trying to wrap his mind around everything. He thought that once he was in this room that was it. He figured that even Natsume wouldn't be able to find him. It looked as if he really underestimated his friend.

"Of course he is," Kogitsune without any hesitation.

"Thank you for the help but you should go. It's not safe here," Kyo tried to tell him but the child was already shaking his head.

"I'm not leaving. You're my friend too!" the child exclaimed. "Besides it raining and you said that the rain makes you sick." Kyo sighed knowing the child was right. He could hear the rain hitting the roof. The tin roof. Akito really did want to make him as miserable as possible.

"I guess there's no arguing with you," Kyo said as he sat down and leaned back against the wall.

"Nope," the fox said as he sat down next to him looking proud. "Say Kyo?"

"Hmmm," Kyo hummed as he tried to ignore the sound of the rain.

"Why'd they lock you in here?" Kogitsune asked quietly.

"Because they think I'm a monster," Kyo answered just as quietly.

"I don't think you're a monster. You're my friend and I like you," the boy said looking distressed.

"Thank you," Kyo said as he ruffled the boy's hair. He knew that it was dangerous for the child to be there but he felt better having him around.

"Don't worry Kyo," Kogitsune said, "Natsume will be here soon."

"I know," Kyo said as he glanced out the window at the falling rain. He just hoped Natsume didn't do anything stupid and put himself in needless danger. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if something happened to the other boy because of him.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: **Well here's chapter 9. I didn't get any reviews for the last chapter though ~sniff~ Please leave a review for this one. Once again I will update either next Friday or Saturday.

* * *

**Chapter 9 (6 pages)**

Natsume was tired, very tired. He had released three names since he had gotten home from school and would like nothing more than to go to sleep. He was just about to change out of his clothes and go to bed when he heard his name being called.

"_Natsume-sama! Natsume-sama!"_ He sighed as he walked over to his window glad that the Fujiwara's weren't home. They were once again visiting Touku-san's sister but since his school had reopened they left him at home. He was kind of disappointed that he didn't get to go as he would have liked to see Kyo again but it couldn't be helped. Besides next time he saw his friend he would like to have some way to help him.

"What's wrong?" Natsume asked as he opened his window not really surprised to see the Chukyuu standing there.

"_Natsume-sama we have a really important message!"_ the one eye yokai shouted.

"I'll be right down!" Natsume called.

"You're going to do something stupid, aren't you," Nyanko-sensei admonished.

"Sensei," Natsume warned as he headed down stairs and out the backdoor.

"_Natsume-sama! We have to tell you the message!"_ the one eyed Chukyuu said again.

"_It came from really far away,"_ the ox Chukyuu added.

"What is it?" Nyanko-sensei snapped.

"_It…"_ they started to explain when someone cut them off.

"_They're right when they say it came from really far away," _Hinoe said as she puffed on her pipe, _"but the message came from many yokai and got jumbled. You're friend really isn't dead."_

"What? Dead?" Natsume shouted.

"_I just said your friend wasn't dead!"_ Hinoe shouted back.

"Well that's good," Natsume sighed with relief. "Now which friend needs my help?"

"_Your childhood one,"_ the one-eyed Chukyuu said.

"Kyo!" Natsume shouted now really worried.

"_That's right. His family has locked him up in the main house,"_ Hinoe said as she continued to puff on her pipe looking only mildly interested.

"_I wanted to be the one to tell him…"_ the ox Chukyuu whined.

"_But you were going to tell him that his friend was dead!"_ Hinoe snapped back. The two of them started bickering.

"Sensei," Natsume said as he looked at his bodyguard.

"Tch," the cat said. "I guess there's no helping it." He then transformed. _"Let's go Natsume."_

"Right," Natsume said as he jumped on his back and then they were flying through the air. "Sensei how long will it take us to…ahhhh!" he let out a scream of surprise when he noticed someone sitting behind him. "Hinoe what are you doing here?"

"_Get off of me,"_ Madara grumbled.

"_No. I want to see this childhood friend of Natsume's. He's been talking about him for months now. I'm curious,"_ Hinoe argued.

"Sensei we might need her help," Natsume said quietly. He wasn't sure how bad the situation with Kyo was or what other types of abilities the rest of his family might have.

"_Don't worry Natsume,"_ Madara reassured him. _"I am faster than humans. It won't take us long to get there." _

"Right," Natsume said but he still felt worried. He didn't understand why Kyo's family would lock him up and he was worried that they might do something worse to him.

"_You really do care about this friend of yours,"_ Hinoe said casually.

"Yeah," Natsume said. Kyo was the only child that would play with him while he lived there. When he really thought about it Kyo was one of the only other children that ever really played with him.

"_I'm going higher,"_ Madara said. Natsume looked down at the ground below him and realized that they had never been this high before. If he wasn't so worried about Kyo he really would have enjoyed it.

It wasn't long after that they hit a storm. The rain was coming down in buckets and lightning lit up the sky. Natsume just hoped that it wasn't raining where Kyo was but his hope was in vain. When they finally reached the city the storm had reached its peak.

"The main house is over there!" Natsume shouted over a rumble of thunder. Madara headed in the direction that Natsume indicated.

"_Natsume,"_ Hinoe said her voice serious, _"that house has a bad energy about it."_

"I know," Natsume said as he could feel it too, "but I have to get him out." Hinoe just smirked in reply not looking surprised at all. They landed inside the grounds of the estate and Madara turned back into his smaller form.

"_Ah, this place is so big,"_ Hinoe said looking dismayed. Natsume agreed with her. He didn't even know where to begin to look for Kyo. Natsume was just about to begin his search when a big gust of window nearly knocked him off of his feet.

"_Natsume-dono why did you ask for her help but not mine?" _Misuzu said as he looked at him steadily.

"I'm sorry but we were in a hurry," Natsume tried to explain when Hinoe took over.

"_And I was there. Those Chukyuu got the message wrong. I did not want to see Natsume upset,"_ Hinoe explained.

"_I know I heard the message. So we are here to rescue Natsume's childhood friend,"_ Misuzu said.

"Yes. Thank you," Natsume said as he smiled up at the large horse like yokai.

They separated and began to search the grounds; Natsume trying to be careful as he could. The last thing they needed was for him to get caught. The rain was coming down even harder and Natsume was freezing. It didn't help that he was soaked because of the rain. Still he continued on with his search. After a while he was losing hope of ever finding Kyo when he thought he heard someone call his name. It was hard to hear over the storm so Natsume stopped and listened; very faintly he heard someone calling him. He hurried towards the sound. Natsume finally spotted a barred window and he was just able to make Kogitsune looking out of it as the lightning flashed. He ran towards the window as fast as he could.

"Kyo! Kogitsune!" Natsume shouted as he looked into the small room.

"Natsume how did you…" Kyo started to ask but Natsume cut him off with a shake of his head.

"That's not important. Are you two alright?" Natsume asked and frowned when he saw that it looked as if Kyo had been in a bad fight and lost.

"We're fine," Kyo said. Kogitsune nodded.

"I watched him just like you asked me to. I even found him here," Kogitsune added looking proud of himself.

"You did good," Natsume said as he smiled down at the child.

"Natsume!" Nyanko-sensei shouted. Natsume turned around to see the cat running towards them with Hinoe close behind.

"_Did you find him?"_ Hinoe asked.

"Yeah they're in here," Natsume called. "I'll be right back." He then left the window to join Hinoe who was looking at the walls. The room that Kyo had been placed in was a corner room with just the one small window and no doors.

"It looks like the only way to reach the room is through the house," Sensei grumbled. While the cat once again walked around the room Hinoe looked through the window.

"_Natsume he's not even good looking. Why couldn't you're childhood friend have been a girl,"_ Hinoe whined.

"Now's not the time…" Natsume started to say when Misuzu joined them.

"_Natsume-dono I believe the main house knows something is up. They are on their way to your friend's prison,"_ Misuzu explained.

"If we don't get your friend out of here and leave you will be caught as well," Sensei said.

"I don't want you to get caught because of me take Kogitsune and…" Kyo started to say.

"No!" Natsume shouted "I am not leaving you here!" Kyo looked slightly surprised by the outburst but he could care less.

"_There's only one thing to do then,"_ Misuzu sighed. _"Tell your friend to stand by the door and quickly."_

"Ah, right!" Natsume said. "Kyo. Kogitsune. Stand back Misuzu is going to get you out!"

"_You should stand back as well Natsume,"_ Hinoe said looking calm. Natsume quickly did as she asked. A moment later Misuzu let out an energy blast and a whole corner of the room was gone.

"How did…" Kyo said looking utterly shocked.

"There's no time for that," Sensei said. Natsume knew that he was right as he heard running and shouting come from inside. Nyanko-sensei transformed and quickly scooped Natsume up. Kyo was still standing there looking utterly confused. Not that Natsume could blame him as he couldn't 'see' what was going on.

"It's alright Kyo," Natsume said as he held out his hand. His friend only hesitated for a second before taking it. Once Natsume had a firm grasp on his hand he pulled Kyo up so he was sitting behind him. "Let's go Sensei." Hinoe grabbed the fox boy and they were off.

"How are we flying?" Kyo asked sounding frightened. "There's nothing below us."

"Trust me we're safe but you can close your eyes if it helps," Natsume told him. Kyo didn't respond but the grip Kyo had around his waist tightened and he felt his friend rest his head on his shoulder.

"_I think we should regroup and wait for the storm to settle,"_ Madara suggested.

"I know a place we can rest. It's not too far from here," Kogitsune suggested.

"_Then lead away little one,"_ Misuzu said.

Not fifteen minutes later they were sitting in a small cave; well all of them except Misuzu who was too big to fit. Natsume let out a sigh of relief as he slid off of Madara's back with Kyo being mostly okay or so he thought. He didn't even have time to ask his friend if he was alright when there was a puff of smoke. When it cleared there was pile of clothes with an orange cat walking out of it.

"Kyo?" Natsume as he looked down at the small animal.

"I told that I…" Kyo started to say and then screamed.

"Kyo! What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Natsume asked concerned.

"B-b-behind you," Kyo stammered.

"_Natsume you didn't mention that your friend could see us,"_ Hinoe said looking putout.

"That's because he can't," Natsume said as he looked down at his friend, "but you can, can't you." Kyo nodded with wide eyes.

"_Have you been able to see us when you were a cat before?"_ Madara asked.

"No I would notice something like…." He said as he looked at Misuzu. Madara had a strange look in his eyes but he didn't comment further.

"_The storm is slowing down. We should probably head home soon,"_ Hinoe said as she looked down at the cat curiously. _"I have to say that you are a better looking cat than a human."_

"I…" Kyo said sounding and looking extremely overwhelmed.

"Hinoe," Natsume warned. She shrugged in response and then puffed on her pipe.

"Are you ready to go Kogitsune?" Natsume started to say when the cub shook his head.

"I'm going to stay here," the cub said as he put his small hands on his hips. "I can keep an eye on things and let you know if anyone decides to go after Kyo besides his cousin Yuki and that nice girl feed me..."

"They feed you too?" Kyo asked looking slightly putout.

"Uh-huh," Kogitsune said with a smile. "The girl even leaves things like cake out for me."

"Figures Tohru would leave things like cakes out for a fox," Kyo said with a sigh.

"_Don't worry I'll get the little one where he needs to go,"_ Misuzu said as he picked up the cub and then disappeared.

"_We should go as well,"_ Madara said.

"Hmmm," Natsume agreed. He quickly picked up Kyo's clothes and stuffed them in his satchel.

"_I can hold the kitty if you want,"_ Hinoe offered with a disturbing smile.

"I got him," Natsume said as he scooped up his friend who let out a small yelp. Natsume then jumped on Madara's back. Hinoe pouted but joined them. "Come on Sensei let's go home."


	10. Chapter 10

**Review Thanks:**

Guest: I'm glad you liked the chapter. Sorry you didn't like the previous one though.

blackkyu: Yeah poor Kyo. I put the boys through a lot in this story ;)

**AN:** Natsume spent the first several chapters in Kyo's world. Now Kyo is going to spend the next several in Natsume's. Chapter 11 will be up on either Friday or next Saturday depending on my schedule. Please leave a review!

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Kyo woke up in unfamiliar setting; a very unfamiliar setting. He was laying on a futon and covered with a soft blanket. Which didn't make sense. He should be in that small, dark, room with the barred window. Then last night slowly came to him. He almost thought it was a dream but he hurt too much for that. He sat up and ran his hands through his hair noticing for the first time that the wounds Akito gave him were bandaged.

He looked around the room and saw no signs of Natsume but Kyo's clothes were neatly folded and lying next to the futon. Wondering where his friend could be Kyo quickly got dressed and walked out into the hallway. At first he didn't know where to go but then he heard noises coming from downstairs. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and walked down them.

"I know you wanted to help but you didn't have to destroy the kitchen!" Natsume shouted.

Knowing that Natsume wouldn't talk to the Fujiwaras that way Kyo cautiously peaked into the kitchen. He saw Natsume's cat sitting at the kitchen table looking amused as he friend was arguing with someone or something. For a moment he thought his friend tripped but instead he floated in air for a moment before falling in a chair. Even though he couldn't see _them_ Kyo knew that there must be yokai around. He cleared his throat to let them know of his presence.

"Morning Kyo," Natsume said with a tired smile.

"Morning," Kyo mumbled as he stepped into the kitchen to immediately be poked by something.

"Alright enough!" Natsume shouted as he began to wrestle with something and slowly shoved whatever it or they were out the door.

"You need to be tougher with those Chukyuu," the cat chided.

"Not now Sensei!" Natsume said as he continued to push whatever it was out into the hallway.

"I take it you can't see yokai in your human form," the cat said. Kyo shook his head and sat down at the small kitchen table. He was still trying to figure out how he could suddenly see them at all in any form.

"Sorry about that," Natsume said as he once again joined them in the kitchen.

"It's fine," Kyo reassured his nervous looking friend. "So are they friends of yours?"

"Yeah. They wanted to make breakfast to help since we got back so late," Natsume said as he scooped out three plates of eggs from the pot on the stove and set them on the table. Feeling famished Kyo took a large bite of eggs and grimaced when they crunched.

"There are shells in this," the cat complained.

"Sorry, I can make something else," Natsume said as he stood up or tried to stand up before he sat back down in the chair.

"Natsume are you alright?" Kyo asked concerned.

"I'm fine," Natsume said looking anything but at him.

"Don't listen to that idiot," the cat said. "He hasn't slept since he got up yesterday morning."

"Yesterday morning!" Kyo repeated looking for one to the other then back again.

"I needed to help you," Natsume said like it made perfect sense.

"I would have been fine," Kyo told him.

"No," Natsume said a definitive note in his voice. "Your family had you locked up Kyo. That's not alright."

Kyo shared a look with the cat who didn't look surprised by Natsume's answer. Kyo then remembered the conversation he had with the cat the night of the storm…

"_Natsume is an idiot and has no sense of self preservation," the cat said as he glanced at the sleeping boy. "When you were in your other form he saved you from that yokai even though he didn't know who you were. Now that he knows that one of his friends needs help…" _

"You really are," Kyo said with a chuckle. "Why don't I make breakfast. I'm not the best cook but at least my eggs won't have shells in them."

"Ah…want about your injuries?" Natsume asked.

"I know they look bad but trust me I've had worse," Kyo assured him as he scrapped the eggs in the garbage and got some more out of the fridge. When Natsume didn't answer he turned around to see that his friend had a contemplative look on his face.

"It looks like you two have a lot to discuss so I'll be off," the cat said as he hoped off the table. "Besides the Chukyuu owe me sake." With that said the cat was gone.

Kyo went back to cooking the eggs and Natsume stayed quiet but Kyo could practically hear the wheels turning in his friend's head. He figured that his friend had a lot of questions for him; he had a few himself truth-be-told. Now that he was free of his family he wasn't sure were to go or what to do. Once he finished the eggs he put them on two plates and once again joined his friend at the table.

"Kyo can I ask why your family locked you up like that?" Natsume asked as he picked at his food; Kyo on the other hand had his half gone.

"Because I'm the cat and technically not part of the zodiac not to mention," he held up his wrist with the bracelet. "Most people aren't as…accepting of that form as you are. You see each cat of the zodiac always gets locked up when they hit a certain age. It was supposed to happen to me the day I graduated from high school. Akito changed his mind and did it earlier."

"So your family knew that you were going to be locked up?" Natsume asked looking upset. Very upset and hurt. "I thought your cousins were so nice. I thought they cared." Kyo sighed. This was far from a happy conversation and Natsume seemed just as upset about it as he felt. He had to find a way of explaining it without upsetting his friend further.

"It doesn't matter if they care about me or not they can't go against Akito," Kyo tried to explain further. "It's all part of the curse."

"I wouldn't let someone I care about be locked up curse or no," Natsume argued.

"I know you wouldn't. You proved that last night," Kyo said as he smiled at his friend.

"Is your family going to come looking for you?" Natsume asked.

"Honestly I don't know. Akito might out of spite but you have a spy. I can't believe you had that cub basically babysitting me. I was wondering why he was hanging around," Kyo said as he gave his friend a mock glare.

"I…ah…" Natsume said as he blushed. "I had a bed feeling."

"You had a bad feeling," Kyo said with a small chuckle. "Now no more talk of my family. It's just upsetting us both." Kyo took a mouthful of eggs and noticed that Natsume was still only picking at his. "And eat your eggs. After that you are going to bed."

"But the kitchen…" Natsume said as he looked around at the mess.

"I can clean up the kitchen. You on the other hand have been awake for over twenty-four hours and that is far from healthy," Kyo told him. Natsume opened his mouth to argue further and Kyo shook his head. "I don't want to hear it. After everything that you are doing for me the least I can do is clean up a kitchen."

"Ah…" Natsume said but ended up just nodding.

Kyo was glad that he had made Natsume agree to go to bed. He was nearly falling asleep while he ate. After the meal Kyo walked Natsume up the stairs to his room; afraid that if he didn't he would fall and hurt himself. As soon as Natsume was lying on his futon he was asleep.

Worried that his friend might be sick after the storm yesterday Kyo quickly checked Natsume's temperature. He was happy when he felt none. Kyo covered the younger boy with a blanket and then quietly headed downstairs feeling his face heat up as he remember how Natsume zipped him up in his jacket to get him home…

_This time as they flew Kyo was able to enjoy it slightly more as it didn't feel like he was flying on nothing. Still it was a bit odd as they were riding on the back of a yokai. He was amazed how natural this seemed for his friend as they continued to soar higher and higher into the night sky until the lights of the city looked like pinpricks. It also meant that it got colder and he couldn't stop the shiver the wracked his small body. _

"_Kyo are you cold?" Natsume asked his voice laced with concern. _

"_I'm fine," Kyo said the lie automatically coming out. Natsume let out a long frustrated sigh as he unzipped his jacket. Before Kyo had time to comment Natsume pulled him closer to his chest and zipped up his coat leaving it open enough that if Kyo wanted to look out if he could._

"_Better?" Natsume asked him. _

"_Ah, yeah," Kyo mumbled glad that he was a cat for the first time in his life. At least in this form Natsume wouldn't be able to see his blush. _

_Kyo had wanted to stay awake. To thank you Natsume properly. But with how injured he was and the storm he was exhausted. Not to mention that now he was warm and felt safe. Even though he tried to stay awake Natsume's heartbeat lulled him to sleep…_

Kyo shook his head pushing the memory away. He quickly and efficiently finished cleaning the kitchen. After he had it spotless Kyo wasn't sure what to do. The last thing he wanted to do was go somewhere that he wasn't suppose to do, upset Natsume's foster parents and get them both in trouble.

In the end Kyo decided that he would go and check on the younger boy. Quietly as he could he opened Natsume's bedroom door and peaked inside. Natsume was curled up on his futon fast asleep. Not knowing what else to do Kyo closed the door and went back downstairs. He went into the living room and sat awkwardly on the couch.

His mind was whirling. So much had happened in the last couple of days. The question of what he was going to do now once again came to his mind. It was even so much his distant future that had him worried but his immediate one. Where was he going to go? What was he going to do? He had no job. No money. And he had no clue what his family was going to do once they found him gone.

_**~XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX~**_

It was later that afternoon when Natsume finally woke up. The sun was already low in the sky a sign that summer was nearly over. As Natsume walked out of his room he noticed how quiet it was. This meant that there were no yokai around and the Fujiwaras weren't home yet.

He went down stairs wondering where his friend could be. He eventually found Kyo sitting on the couch looking deep in thought. Natsume winced when he was the state of the older boy. Even though he had bandaged most of his injuries there were still several visible bruises. It made him fell ill that Kyo's family would hurt him that way. Kyo must have felt someone watching him because he looked up and gave him a small smile.

"You're up," Kyo said. "Are you feeling better?"

"Ah, yeah," Natsume said as he joined the other boy on the couch. "Are you?"

"I'm…" Kyo started to say and then shook his head, "I don't know. I have no idea what to do now."

Natsume bit his lip. He hadn't thought about that. All he cared about was getting Kyo out of there. What happened after never crossed his mind. Now Kyo was going through what he had gone through more times than he could count. The uncertainty of when you lost your 'home' where you would end up next and if it would be better or worse. He couldn't, no he wouldn't let Kyo go through that. It was a terrible feeling.

"I'll talk to the Fujiwaras. See if you can stay here until you find a job and a place to live," Natsume said. Just the idea of asking them that question made him feel sick. He had never asked for something like that before but Kyo was his friend.

"I can't ask you to do that," Kyo said looking surprised by the offer.

"It's alright Kyo," Natsume reassured him. "You're my friend and I won't abandon you."

"I…" Kyo said his cheeks turning pink. Natsume frowned.

"Are you getting sick?" Natsume asked him.

"No I'm fine," Kyo said as he quickly looked away. "So, ah…do you want to play a card game or something?" They were on their third game when they both heard the front door open and close.

"Takashi-kun we're home," Touku-san called.

"I'll go talk to them," Natsume said as he gave his nervous looking friend a reassuring smile even though his stomach was in knots. He walked into the hallway to see Shigeru-san hanging up their coats.

"Welcome back," he told them.

"Oh, Takashi-kun you look pale do you feel alright?" Touku-san asked him.

"Ah…yeah…but…" Natsume asked but started to feel nervous. If they said no he didn't know what Kyo was going to do.

"It's okay Takashi-kun you can ask us anything," Shigeru-san said with a kind smile.

"That's right," Touku-san agreed. "Now what's the matter?"

"My friend Kyo had a fight with his family and needs a place to stay," Natsume said finally gathering his courage.

"Oh my," Touku-san gasped.

"Is he in the living room?" Shigeru-san asked. Natsume nodded slowly. "Kyo-kun would you come here please." A moment later Kyo joined them.

"I am sorry for the inconvenience but can I please stay with you for a few days?" Kyo asked giving them a low bow.

"Of course you can," Shigeru-san agreed making Kyo startle with surprise. "After all you showed the same kindness to Takashi how can we not do the same in return?" Touku-san nodded in agreement looking extremely happy by the idea.

"I…" Kyo said still looking uncertain.

"Don't worry about it Kyo-kun. Now I better start dinner. You boys look hungry," Touku-san said as she headed towards the kitchen

"At least let me help," Kyo offered.

"No it's alright you boys finish your game," she said with a smile as he walked into the kitchen with Shigeru following. "Two growing boys in the house. I'll have to go grocery shopping tomorrow."

After the older couple had walked into the kitchen Natsume turned to his friend and smiled. "Welcome home."


	11. Chapter 11

**Review Thanks:**

**Atlis:**Huh…alright you got. My mistake I forgot to have them notice that. I tried to fix it somewhat in this chapter but since I already had it written. Sorry for the mistake and thanks for the catch!

**Guest****: **Thank you very much! I was worried that I wouldn't be able to write that.

**PCheshire: **Ah…well there's no trouble for them in this chapter as for what's coming up I can't make any promises. I'm kind of evil when it comes to my stories ;)

**AN: **So Kyo is already realizing his feelings for Natsume and has for a while now. Natsume on the other hand isn't going to be anytime soon. Even in the anime he never seemed interested in anyone. This is more of a filler chapter but it picks up again in chapter 12. Next chapter will be up on either Friday or next Saturday. Please leave a review!

**Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms, Aunties, and grandmas out there! (This of course includes pet moms!)**

* * *

**Chapter 11 **

Kyo was a little nervous when Natsume went off to school but the Fujiwaras were generally nice people and they didn't have any dark secrets or alterative motives. At the moment Kyo was outside enjoying the peaceful countryside. It really was a beautiful area. Much better than the city. He could picture himself living in a place like this and being happy. He heard the door of the house open and turned around to see Mrs. Fujiwara carrying a very large laundry basket full of wet clothes.

"Let me help you with that," Kyo said as he took the basket from her.

"Are you sure you should?" the woman asked as she eyed Kyo's bandages wearily.

"It's really not as bad as it looks," he said with a smile hoping to put her at ease.

"Then thank you Kyo-kun," she said returning the smile.

"It's no problem Mrs. Fujiwara," Kyo said as he followed the small woman to the clothesline.

"Kyo-kun…" she said as she looked up at him with a frown.

"Sorry, Touku-san," he corrected himself.

"Much better," she said her smile returning. "You can set the basket down there." Kyo did as she instructed and began to help her hang the laundry noticing that most of them were blankets.

"I really appreciate you letting me stay here," Kyo told her and he did. He honestly didn't know what he have done if they hadn't.

"We like having you here," Touku-san said and then gave him a sad look as she once again eyed his bandages. "Takashi-kun mentioned that you had a fight with your family."

"I…" Kyo honestly didn't know what to say. He didn't want to get the Fujiwaras involved any more than they already were.

"If it's too hard to talk about you don't have to," Touku-san said. "Takashi-kun doesn't talk about his past either." Kyo looked at her curiously as he really didn't know anything about Natsume's past; not that Natsume knew a lot about his. "That's why I'm so happy he asked us to let you stay with us. He doesn't ask for much."

"Natsume does seem very reserved," Kyo said. Touku-san nodded in agreement.

"I wish he would have come to live with us sooner," the woman sighed. "Maybe then he would rely on us more."

"Sooner?" Kyo asked curiously. Touku-san nodded.

"He's only been here a little over a year," she said. "Kyo-kun is there something special you would like for dinner?"

"Ah…" Kyo said. He wanted to ask more about why Natsume was living with them and why for such a short amount of time but he didn't want to go behind his friend's back like that.

"Or is there something you don't like?" she asked.

"Leeks," Kyo muttered.

"But they're good for you," Touku-san said then giggled. "I don't like them much either. Why don't you come grocery shopping with me and you can pick out some things that you like."

"I'd like that," he agreed.

He spent a very nice afternoon with the older woman. She was very kind and made him feel as if he was wanted. She also kept dropping small little tidbits about Natsume. Information that Kyo filed away so he could think about it later.

On the walk back from the grocery store several people stopped and talked to Touku-san; they had walked as it wasn't that far and it was such a nice day. She seemed happy to introduce him. It was like she was proud of the fact that he was Natsume's childhood friend.

"We're home," Touku-san said as she stepped into the house.

"Welcome back," Shigeru-san greeted them as he took one of the bags from Kyo. "I aired out that room."

"Thank you," Touku-san said as she smiled at her husband. "Kyo why don't you help me put the groceries away and then we can show you your room."

Kyo did just that and enjoyed the pleasant chatter between the couple. They seemed to really care about each other and that was nice to see. With the three of them working together it didn't take them long at all to get all of the food put away.

"Kyo would you liked to see your room?" the woman asked.

"Yes please," he said still overwhelmed by their genuine kindness. He followed them up the stairs and watched as they opened the door to the room next to Natsume's. He shared his friend's room last night and ended up not getting a lot of sleep because of it. Whatever Natsume was to him made it difficult to sleep so close to him.

The room was very similar to Natsume's. It had a nice open area with a futon already to go, a closet, and an open window to let in the cool breeze. Strangely though there was a pile of clothes folded neatly on top of the futon.

"I noticed that you didn't bring anything with you so I thought that you might like some of Shigeru-san's old clothes," Touku-san.

"I…you really didn't have to go through all of this trouble," Kyo muttered.

"It's no trouble Kyo-kun. We're happy to do it. Now I am going to make us lunch," the woman said as she left the room.

"Kyo-kun how old are you?" Shigeru-san asked.

"Seventeen," he answered.

"I see," Shigeru-san said with a kind smile. "Listen I won't ask what troubles you are having with your family and you can stay here as long as you need. But I also remember what it's like to be a young man. When you are ready I can help you find a place to live and a job."

"Thank you," Kyo said.

"Come on let's got help with lunch," the man said. Kyo nodded and followed the man downstairs. "Oh and Kyo-kun if you need any help with girls…"

"I…" Kyo said and felt himself blush.

"I see," Shigeru-san said with a chuckle, "there's already a girl you like."

"You stop picking on Kyo-kun," Touku-san said as she glared at her husband.

"Sorry, sorry," Shigeru-san said as he stuck his hands up in mock surrender.

As they sat down to eat lunch Kyo wondered how they would react to the fact that the 'girl' he liked was Natsume. Not wanting to know how they or Natsume would react he pushed his feelings down and tried to enjoy the meal.

_**~XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX~**_

Natsume was packing up his backpack glad that it had been an uneventful day for a change. That was until he heard his classmates looking out the window and talking excitedly. It made him nervous for a second but then realized if they could see it then chances were it wasn't a yokai.

"He looks like a college student," Kitamoto said.

"Maybe he's here to pick up his girlfriend," Nishimura added.

"I wish he was my boyfriend," one of the girls in the class whined. Now really curious Natsume glanced out the window.

"It's Kyo," he said quietly wondering what the other boy was doing there.

"Kyo?" Nishimura asked curiously. Natsume nodded.

"Who's Kyo?" Kitamoto asked.

"My childhood friend," Natsume told them. They had identical smirks as they hurried out the door. "Hey wait a minute!" He hurried after them hoping to stop them from bombarding his friend with a bunch of stupid questions.

"Natsume would you come here a moment," someone called. He turned around to see the teacher from Tanuma's class. He walked over to talk to her. She gave him all of Tanuma's work because he had missed school that day and she knew that they were good friends. He quickly put it in his bag and hurried outside. Kyo looked only slightly annoyed but his friend but gave him a nice smile when he saw him walking towards them.

"Sorry but I had to talk to a teacher," Natsume told him.

"Don't worry about it," Kyo said with a shrug.

"Well see you tomorrow Natsume," Kitamoto said. "It was nice meeting you Kyo."

"See ya," Nishimura said as him and Kitamoto headed down the street.

"I hope they didn't bother you," Natsume said as he looked up at Kyo.

"No," Kyo said with a shake of his head, "your friends are very nice." Natsume smiled remembering how they went out of their way to be friends with him. That's why he didn't want them to know about his ability. He had a feeling they would believe him and then they would be in danger.

"So what are you doing here? Did something happen?" Natsume asked slightly concerned. It could be anything from yokai to Kyo's family.

"Nothing's wrong," Kyo said looking surprised by the questions. "I just thought that it would be nice to pick you up."

"Well since you have an escort home I can go off and have a drink," Sensei said from up on the wall. Natsume glared at his so-called bodyguard.

"Fine but just to let you know Touku-san said that she was making shrimp for dinner," Kyo said with a casually shrug. The cat stopped dead in his tracks and licked his lips.

"On second thought maybe I'll go home," the cat said and then bounded down the street with a meow.

"Kyo I know you came to walk me home but I have to drop off some schoolwork for a friend," Natsume explained hoping that Kyo wouldn't be upset.

"I don't mind," Kyo said. "It's a nice day for a walk besides we better enjoy the weather while it lasts." Natsume nodded in agreement. It was little cool out but the sun was still warm. Not that it was going to last long as winter was on the way.

"Yeah," Natsume said as he started to walk to Tanuma's home with Kyo following.

"The Fujiwaras are very nice," Kyo said. Natsume nodded. "Natsume why ah…never mind."

"Is something wrong?" Natsume asked his friend.

"No not all," Kyo said as he gave him a small smile a smile that he had never seen before. He was about to ask him again to make sure when he heard rustling coming from the bushes.

"Kappa," he said as he walked over and kneeled down.

"_Hi Natsume," _the small green yokai said as he looked curiously over a Kyo who was staring just as curiously._ "So that's your friend." _Natsume nodded._ "Everyone's talking about him. Hinoe said he looks better as a cat but I don't think he looks so bad for a human." _

"Why's everyone talking about him?" Natsume asked not to found of the idea of Kyo being the talk of the yokai world; it was dangerous.

"_Because of your rescue mission!" _Kappa said looking impressed.

"Are you talking to one?" Kyo asked curiously as he peered over his shoulder.

"Yeah," Natsume said without turning around. "I have an errand to run so I'll have to talk to you later."

"_Alright Natsume," _Kappa said and then ran off_. _

"Does that happen to you often?" Kyo asked as he offered his hand which Natsume accepted and let Kyo pull him up.

"Often enough," Natsume told him. Which was true. He was just glad that this one was a friend. Kyo didn't need to know about the others that he usually ran into.

"Say Natsume do Kitamoto and Nishimura know about..?" Kyo asked as he looked over his shoulder.

"No," Natsume said as he shook his head. "Tanuma knows. He's the one we need to drop the homework off for. Then there's Taki. She moved here not too long ago."

"Taki?" Kyo asked sounding strange. Natsume looked at him curiously wondering what was wrong. "Are you two close?"

"Close?" Natsume asked wondering why Kyo was asking that. "We're friends if that's what you mean."

"No that's not…" Kyo sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Do you like her?"

"Oh, no, but Nishimura does. Why are you looking for a girlfriend…ah sorry I guess that was insensitive of me," Natsume apologized. He couldn't believe he had goofed up like that. With Kyo's curse it would be hard for him to have a girlfriend.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it," Kyo said as he ruffled his hair. Natsume looked over at his friend and saw that he was telling the truth. In fact he looked much more relaxed than he had a moment before. He wondered if it had something to do with Taki and if it did why?


	12. Chapter 12

**Review Thanks:**

**blackkyu: **Thank you very much!

**Guest: **Thank you :) As for Tanuma he will actually show up in the next chapter.

**AN: **Sorry this chapter is a shorter than my others but this was the best way to spilt it up. The next chapter will be up on either Friday or Saturday. Please leave a review and let me know what you think!

* * *

**Chapter 12 **

Natsume had just fallen asleep that night when he heard a knocking on his bedroom window. He rolled over and ignored it hoping that whoever it was would go away, but the knocking became more persistent. With a groan he got up.

"Don't open it," Nyanko-sensei said.

"They might need our help," Natsume told him. The cat just shook his head. Natsume not listening opened the window and in tumbled Kappa.

"_Natsume! Natsume!"_ the small yokai squealed.

"Calm down Kappa," Natsume tried to sooth the creature. "Now what's wrong?"

"_There's this yokai with a sword going around killing and eating all the smaller yokai,"_ Kappa explained as tears leaked from its eyes.

"You shouldn't get involved in this," Nyanko-sensei told him.

"How can I not," Natsume said put on his spare pair of shoes that he kept in his room. He then opened his window further so he could climb out.

"Idiot," the cat grumbled but followed him anyway. He carefully climbed down the roof and followed Kappa into the woods. What Natsume didn't notice was that he was being followed.

"This way Natsume!" Kappa shouted. Natsume was quick to follow but he didn't even need the Kappa's help as he could hear the screams of the small yokai.

It was very tall, slim yokai with long spindly arms and legs. What had Natsume really worried was the long, sharp looking, sword it was carrying. He needed to distract it and get it away from here before it killed anyone else. Any plans that he had been making changed though when Kyo stumbled into the clearing.

"Natsume what…" Kyo was asking but Natsume was more concerned by the fact that the yokai was now more interested in his friend. It raised its sword high.

"Kyo get down!" Natsume shouted as he pushed his friend down just in time. The sword just missed them and cut a tree in half instead. Not that he had much time to celebrate the save as the yokai was going to make another swipe at them. He grabbed Kyo tightly by the hand and they began to run. He needed to get Kyo out of there and fast.

"Sensei!" Natsume shouted. The cat that had been running along next to him suddenly transformed.

"_Natsume. That's a very dangerous yokai. You need to seal it," _Madara told him.

"Then keep him distracted and away from Kyo while I draw the circle," Natsume told him.

"_Tch! You really are a troublesome child," _Madara said but he attacked the yokai anyway.

While the yokai was busy Natsume continued to run with Kyo until they reached another clearing. He stopped by a rather large tree and tried to catch his breath.

"Natsume I…" Kyo started to say looking frightened and upset.

"It'll be alright Kyo," Natsume told him with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Just stay here." He hurried away grabbing a stick on the way. He carefully and quickly as he could drew the circle he needed in the ground and waited. It didn't take long to hear the breaking of tree branches and the sound of a sword slicing.

Madara came flying towards him with the yokai close behind. Natsume waited until it was in the bounds of the circle when he pulled out the mirror that he always made sure to carry and started to say the spell. The yokai snarled and growled but Natsume ignored it and continued to chant. When the spell was finished there was a bright flash of light, a puff of smoke, and the yokai was gone. Feeling complete exhausted Natsume dropped the mirror and sunk to his knees.

_**~XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX~**_

Kyo couldn't believe what he was seeing or he couldn't believe what he wasn't seeing. Trees being cut down by something and Natsume was trying his best to protect him. Then that cat was there then he wasn't. The next thing Kyo saw clearly was Natsume falling to his knees.

"Natsume!" Kyo shouted as he ran towards his friend and was able to catch the smaller boy before he fell on his face.

"I'm alright," Natsume muttered into Kyo's chest.

"You sure?" Kyo asked as he began to rub his friend's back but pulled it away when he felt something damp. When he looked at his hand he saw that it was red. He quickly checked Natsume's back and saw that his shirt had been sliced open and was stained red with blood. Kyo figured Natsume must have gotten hurt when he shoved him down to protect him. "I'm sorry Natsume."

"It's just a scratch Kyo," Natsume said as he leaned more into him. "You're really warm." His small friend's breath evened out and he was asleep.

"This is my fault," Kyo said as he placed a chaste kiss on top of Natsume's head.

"He's the one that came out here to stop it even knowing what it was," the cat said as he came walking up to them.

"Where were you?" Kyo asked as he glared down at the cat. He got a very cold, very frightening look in return.

"Just because _you_ couldn't see me doesn't mean that I wasn't here," the cat said his voice like ice. Kyo learned very quickly that the cat might not look powerful or frightening but he was.

"Is he going to be alright?" Kyo asked as he ran his hands through Natsume's hair.

"He'll be fine but we better get him home," the cat said and then started to walk away. Kyo carefully maneuvered Natsume so that he was riding on his back afraid that if he carried him any other way it would aggravate the cut the younger boy had on his back. Once he had Natsume settled he followed the animal.

"So what happened tonight?" Kyo asked the cat.

"The same thing that always happens. A yokai asks for help and Natsume agreed. He can't say no," the cat explained. "If you're going to be friends with him you're going to have to get use to it."

"How often do things like this happen?" Kyo asked. The cat snorted and Kyo had a feeling that meant a lot.

They walked back to the house in silence or mostly silence. The cat was having a conversation with something so Kyo let his mind wander. He couldn't stop blaming himself for Natsume's injury. If he hadn't followed Natsume then his friend wouldn't have had to protect him. It was just that when he saw Natsume climb out his window…he never should have followed him. They had just made it back to the house when Kyo felt Natsume stir.

"Kyo…" Natsume said sleepily.

"Glad to see you're awake," Kyo said trying to hide his worry. Natsume picked his head off Kyo's shoulder.

"I can walk," Natsume said sounding slightly more alert but only slightly.

"It's fine Natsume. It's not like you're heavy," Kyo told him. He highly doubted the smaller boy could walk by how bonelessly he was lying against him. "Now be quiet or you're going to wake them up."

Kyo quietly opened the front door and then closed it softly as possible behind them. He waited a moment and when he didn't hear anything Kyo slowly made his way up the stairs and into Natsume's room. He then gently set his friend down. Natsume was only standing for a moment before his legs gave out and he was sitting on the floor.

"I'm okay," Natsume said instantly. Kyo shook his head and chose to ignore the statement. It looked as if Natsume was going to play the 'I'm okay' game when he looked anything but.

"Where's the first aid kit?" he asked the cat.

"There's one in the closet," the animal answered. Kyo quickly dug it out before turning back to his friend.

"Take your shirt off," Kyo instructed then realizing what he said blushed but he pushed his feelings down. Natsume was hurt.

"Kyo I'm…"

"Don't want to hear it. Now take your shirt off so I can clean and bandage that cut," Kyo told him.

"You better do what he says," the cat added. Natsume glared at them both but he relented and took his shirt off. Kyo let out a hiss when he examined the cut. It wasn't very deep but it went from his right shoulder diagonally down to the middle of his back.

"This may sting a bit," Kyo said as he opened an alcohol wipe and carefully as he could began to clean the cut. To Natsume's credit he only let out one small whimper of pain. After he thoroughly had the cut clean he took out a long piece of gauze and tapped it down so it covered the injury. "I am sorry about this."

"It's not your fault," Natsume said as he put on a clean pajama shirt wincing as he did so.

"I…" Kyo started to argue and then stopped when he saw his friend yawn and lie down. As soon as Natsume's head was on his pillow he was asleep. The cat made himself comfortable on the second smaller pillow and seemed to go to sleep but by the way his ears were twitching Kyo highly doubted it.

Kyo covered them both with a blanket and turned out the light before making himself comfortable in front of the window wondering how he could help Natsume like the way Natsume helped him.


End file.
